


It Takes Time / Reaper x fem!OC, Overwatch

by Grizzling



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, B), Captivity, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I really mean slow burn, I take suggestions, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Romance, Slow Burn, Trauma, When I say slow burn, because everyone loves that, my first fic!, overly dramatic reaper, reader influenced, so fire away, your comments make it in
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2018-09-06 12:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 54,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8750062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grizzling/pseuds/Grizzling
Summary: Reaper x female OC!When Reaper/Gabriel Reyes kidnaps Soldier 76's girl in revenge for their shared past, he gets more trouble than he bargained for in the 20 year old. Can she bring some light into his world or will he corrupt her with darkness for good? Slow-burn, so all ye who are patient will be well rewarded!This is my first story, so I'd appreciate some constructive criticism and/or reviews! Requested by anonymous a long time ago, this is for you!Cross-posted on fanfiction.net and wattpad





	1. Pathetic, Girl

It was a stand off. Soldier 76, aiming down his sights, unwavering. Reaper, his claws digging cruelly into his young hostage's neck. Despite the situation, the death bringer merely stood and smirked under his skull mask, enveloped in husky shadows.

Suddenly, the soldier took a half step forward, perhaps about to make a move, but Reaper's clawed hands dug tighter into the girl's neck: he was using her as a human shield and they both knew it. They stood for a few seconds, both unsure of the other's next move before Reaper leaned forward a fraction.

'You can't kill what's already dead, Jack' he growled out, tilting his head a little as if to indicate himself, 'but your little girlfriend isn't dead yet'.

He shifted his claws against her neck as if to prove his point, and a trickle of blood ran down her neck. In response to the pain the girl tensed up and shivered, backing further into him to get away from his claws.

The soldier's hands clenched visibly. He said nothing, and although both of their masks made them appear emotionless, anyone who knew them closely would have felt the tense history that wrapped them both like a coroner's sheet; removing the air and leaving them both breathless.

In the end, neither made the first move as a second later a bullet tore through the edge of Soldier 76's arm, causing him to leap back to the cover of a burned out car on his right, hissing in pain as he tried to stem the bleeding. Hoisting up his gun with his left hand, he fired blindly over the top of the car in the direction of the sniper: he should have known Widowmaker would be here. She was never far behind Reaper, and he swore at himself for missing the obvious.

He leapt up again from behind the car, firing in the direction of Widowmaker's rooftop spot to earn a second of respite from her scoped gaze, but as he turned to focus his sights on Reaper and his hostage, he caught only a glimpse of the shadow master disappearing into the alleyway behind him, the intimate darkness enveloping them both faster than his legs could take him to them.

The second before they disappeared, the girl locked her eyes with him - but as he stopped running, he saw no fear in her usually soft green eyes. Only pure, unadulterated determination. Stopping to a halt in the covered alley, he saw the last dusky bits of black shadow disappear, and he cursed again, this time louder.

'Pull yourself together, soldier' He muttered under his breath before once again leaping into a long legged run. Reaper may be beyond his reach right now, but that spider bitch certainly wasn't, and Jack Morrison sure as hell wasn't going to let her off easy.

As Reaper made his escape, he quickly put a hand against the now-struggling girl's forehead, sending out a shock and knocking her out cold. She slumped against him, prompting him to mock her.

'Much better' his voice echoed, low and gravelly as he shunted her up onto his shoulder, grunting slightly at her dead weight. Calling on the darkness once more, he leaned into the black, curling mist and shadowstepped to the hallway of a dusky safehouse. Hesitating for a second, he dumped the girl on the floor unceremoniously, glaring at her. This had not been a part of his plan, but he appreciated her... Help in escaping Jack.

She wore nothing more than plain jeans and a shirt that now crumpled against the floor; pitifully inappropriate for the freezing snow that coated the ground outside the house. Striding forcefully away from her down the hallway, the man formerly known as Gabriel Reyes pushed a bedroom door open, hastily clearing it of all the contents and leaving it bare and dim, with nothing but a bed and access to the adjoining bathroom.

Stirred by the scraping noises being made from the nearby room, the girl started to wake, her hand snaking up to massage her bruised head and neck, pushing away her brown curls that were now wet and matted. Realising her situation, she sat bolt upright, her eyes wide like a trapped fox.

'Shit.'

Scrambling to her feet, she turned to the front door behind her, grasping the door handle and twisting it furiously. Suddenly, heavy footfalls sounded behind her and she gasped in fear and anger as the door failed to open. Determined to face literal Death straight on, she turned to look at the approaching man, pressing her back to the door.

'The hell do you want with me, Reaper?' She called out, forcing herself to squint in the dim light to focus on him. In turn, she heard a deep, rumbling laugh as Reaper took another heavy step forward.

'My my, little girl, aren't we a fiery one?' He paused and she could feel him smirking under the mask. 'Jack... He must have his hands full with you, Girl.' He spat out the last word viciously, and there was a slight undertone to his words, but before the girl could respond he shadowstepped forward to within an inch of her, grabbed both her arms tightly and shifted them both through the darkness into the room he had been clearing seconds before. As they landed she stumbled and tripped on the corner of the bed, disoriented from the teleportation. As she fell to the floor, his rough, throaty voice resounded above her. 'Pathetic, Girl.' she heard Reaper say, his claws clicking against his shotguns, and she snapped.

'I'm not 'Girl'. I have a name.' She turned to glare at the man, anger replacing the fear that had paralysed her moments before.

'Really.' The masked man deadpanned, no emotion in his voice.

'It's Sienna.'

'I don't care' he said flatly, turning on his heels and striding out of the door, slamming it shut behind him. The sound of a key in a lock clicked, and darkness flooded the room as the girl named Sienna dusted herself down and got up off the wooden floor. Not hearing footsteps leaving the outside of the door, she decided to have her own little victory.

'What a dick' she called out, just loud enough for a lone person loitering outside the door to hear. The quick telltale 'whoosh' of Reaper's teleportation made a weak grin stretch across her face and she turned to survey her surroundings. The place was dark and dingy, the only light illuminating the room was a faint orange stream through the window from the setting sun. It wasn't as unpleasant as she expected, however.

'I might as well get comfy, it's gonna be a while until anyone comes to get me.' Sienna thought to herself, cautiously patting the bed in a testing motion. Her hand sank in, and her brows raised in surprise. The thing was cushioned to within an inch of its life, and she hesitantly raised a knee to test the softness. When she sank even deeper in, the 20 year old couldn't help but smile despite her fear at the soft, warmth of the duvet as it billowed up around her. It was an unexpected change to the cold, unwelcoming floors that she had become accustomed to in the past year.

It was only since a month ago that she had found Jack again, not the dead man she thought he was, but alive and well. And he'd taken her in.

The though burst into her mind like a rocket. Jack! Her heartbeat rose dramatically again, and she pulled herself off the bed and stood; body trembling and the comfort of the bed long forgotten. The last thing she has seen was him being shot, and she had no way to tell if he was okay. Her face burned. 'Hell, he could even be dead for all I know' Sienna heard her weak voice out loud, and was disgusted at how powerless she was to Reaper's control.

Making up her mind, she looked up again at the walls keeping her prisoner. 'I have to at least do something' her voice echoed off the walls, rebounding back at her like a command. Moving over to the window, the girl checked the clasps only to find them, like the front door, locked and with no way out. Even the chest of drawers had been completely emptied from top to bottom - but what interested Sienna were the claw marks at the bottom of the drawers. Those are Reaper's claws, she thought inwardly, he must have cleared this room in a hurry. So does that mean this is...

Her gaze shifted around the room once more, but examining everything in a different light. Was this Reaper's bedroom? His usual hideout from the regrouped Overwatch members? Sienna had already figured out that his kidnapping of her hadn't been his original intention, but she didn't expect him to bring her to his own house, so to say. 'I guess it makes sense, where else would be keep a hostage?' her voice filled the silence of the room, and her eyes finished their sweep of the room before turning to focus once more on the double bed that occupied over half of the room.

As she gazed meaninglessly, colourful memories rushed through her brain, clouding her vision with reminiscent nostalgia for the past. She'd known Jack before his supposed death, and although he'd told her about Gabriel once or twice she'd never met him. Even after the disbanding of Overwatch... He never seemed real, she thought, more like a fairy tale designed to scare little kids into being good. The ghost who wouldn't die. But now? Well.

She paused her musing to walk round to the side of the bed. Now she'd had first hand experience with him, 'the fairy tale has turned into somewhat of a nightmare' she muttered darkly, her hand sliding up to finger the small puncture wound on her neck.

Regretting the decision immediately, she pulled her hand away as a slice of pain rippled through her skin. Just then, the final sliver of light that was streaming into the room was cut off as the sun sank lower into the horizon, and her head dropped at the dawning realisation of what really had occurred today. Before now, it had all just felt like a hazy dream, with event after event occurring, adrenaline jolts after adrenaline jolts. It had finally caught up with her, and her body sagged at the weight of the strain it had been put through.

At her muscle's protests, Sienna looked reluctantly at the bed. Knowing it was used by the man - no, the thing - who had no qualms in hurting her made her baulk, and her face took on a pale shade of green. Even though the thought disgusted her, her legs shook with exhaustion and Sienna knew she was out of options. It was either sleep on the floor and leave herself unable to fight if necessary tomorrow, or...

Her sigh epitomised her internal struggle. Now, here I am, about to sleep in the bed of my captor, and there ain't a thing I can do about it. Taking a deep breath in, the girl steeled her nerves and pulled back the black duvet and crept nervously into the bed, no longer able to keep herself standing. But as the duvet shifted with her body, Sienna couldn't ignore the husky, earthen scent of Reaper that infiltrated her senses and filled her dreaming mind with sharp claws digging into her neck and endless, shadowy alleyways closing in on her.


	2. An Unwelcome Surprise

Sienna woke with a start, immediately being blinded by white light reflecting off the window. For a moment, the glare of the sunlight made her forget her imprisonment, and she dove deeper into the black bedsheets that had been warmed by the sun.

For just a second, Sienna could forget the aching pain coursing though her muscles and the fear that 'death' might come knocking any second. Or, not knocking. That situation seems more likely at this point. The prospect of being caught in his bed made her skin crawl, and she suddenly couldn't take it any more.

Heaving herself onto the hard floor, she stood shivering in the stagnant air. She hadn't been bothered to change last night, too scared of being woken up and interrogated.

'Especially considering I have nothing to change into' Sienna's voice filled the empty room uncomfortably, prompting the sudden realisation of how alone and quiet the room was. How empty and devoid of presence. It was as if the deep shadows in the corners absorbed her voice and mind, making her feel as insignificant and small. All of a sudden, a grumbling sound reverberated off the walls, getting louder over the seconds. As soon as it cut off, Sienna placed her hands on her stomach, attempting to calm it.

'I wonder if it's too much of a stretch to expect food while I'm here?' the girl mused uncertainly, massaging the skin under her shirt.

She hadn't eaten since since the morning before her capture which, judging by the look of the sun in the sky, was little over a day ago. Out of sheer habit, Sienna found herself pulling at the black duvet to make the bed, as if in a mindless daze. Was this Reaper's effect on her, or was she really just accepting her situation? Feeling the creeping itch of boredom catch up with her, she reached out to her feet, stretching her arms and legs.

'Well that's a first' Sienna laughed inwardly, noting the ways her joints didn't click and groan. And to think, the one good night's sleep is in a bed I'd rather not get back into. _Hah. What a world._

Moving on to her routine of stretches, she made a satisfied groan as a muscle knot in her shoulder finally unravelled. That thing had been there for months. Finally allowing a small smile to grace her features, she twisted to complete her last abdominal stretch, letting her head fall back over her shoulder. But instead of a satisfying end, the smile was ripped off her face as quick as it had appeared.

Leaping away, Sienna stumbled in her shock at seeing a huge, figure looming over her in the darkness, less than an arms width away. She didn't mean to, but the words came tumbling out before she could stop them: 'Jesus Christ'

'Wrong' the figure growled out, his voice like crushed velvet, ripping at the seams. 'In fact, I'm quite the opposite'. He leaned back onto his haunches slightly, cloak rustling, and Sienna could just feel the smirk behind his full mask. She didn't even need to see his face to be able to tell, and it made her shudder.

Noticing her quivering body, the man leant forward again. 'What, cold are we? Little Girl? Does my...' He paused to gesture around '... accommodation not meet the quality Jack could provide?'

His rough, mocking voice suddenly took on a vicious tone at the mention of the Soldier, and Sienna willed herself to stay still as he stalked forwards, squeezing her eyes shut. Seconds later, she could feel a cold sensation radiating into her skin, from a being that was now very, very close. Too close. Refusing to open her eyes, she could feel Reaper almost chest to chest with her, his breath making wisps of her hair slide across her cheek. Was it really her hair, or...?

Interrupting her thoughts, a leather clad finger tilted her chin up suddenly, the metal claw attached to it trailing along her throat and forcing her to open her eyes with a gasp. His shoulders and chest vibrated as her reaction provoked a rumbling laugh from him, and he took his claws away. Is this what she was to him? A plaything to tease and mock as he felt fit?

She opened her eyes, and her burning green irises bored into his mask. The dark, tall man only tilted his head as if further amused.

'I am not your toy' Sienna hissed out, thrusting her hands against his chest in a moment of bravery. However, instead of repelling him she succeeded in pushing herself back as he remained motionless, claws twitching at his sides.

 _What is he, a rock? Certainly feels like one._ Sienna opened her mouth to hurt him in some other way but her stomach beat her to speak. And it was loud. Embarrassed beyond speech, Sienna ducked her head and let her hair fall about her eyes, face furiously turning red; her anger drained out immediately.

As if ignoring it, Reaper spoke up, slowly and purposefully. 'Of course you are my toy. I will use you until I have what I want. And what I want... Is Jack. Dead.'

Abruptly, he turned on his leather boots and crossed the few paces to the door. For a second, Sienna thought she had gotten away with the uninvited interruption of her stomach, but he stopped with one shadowy hand on the door, looking over his shoulder. For the second time in the past few minutes, Sienna could feel that damn grin on his face again. 'And my toys place nice, else they don't get fed. Remember that, Little Girl'

As he opened the door, Sienna called out. 'You wouldn't risk not f-feeding me. You need me alive to lure Jack in.' Her stutter betrayed her inner terror, and Reaper definitely noticed. He seemed to grow larger as he turned his body to face her once more, his wide shoulders dwarfing hers in comparison.

'Wrong again.'

As his voice rippled though the air towards her, it appeared to be coming from every direction, getting louder and louder.

'I could kill you right now, and still get the same results. He would still come for you. He wouldn't know your body lay broken on my floor, bloody and lifeless. But -' he paused to chuckle slightly, and Sienna felt her skin prickle. '- where would the fun be in that?'

And then, he was gone. Black mist curled on the wooden floor, the only trace that a massive, muscled monster had stood there a second before. Wait, muscled? Really, Sienna? She tried to shake the thought out of her head, mildly disgusted at herself, but ended up looking down at the hands which had pushed against his chest. It was true, the leather and armour he wore couldn't have made up all of his weight. Dense muscle must have been a percentage of it. 'And a large percentage, at that' Sienna's mind filled in, much to her dismay.

'What the hell is wrong with me, thinking about that?' She muttered, slumping to the floor on her knees.  
Even though she'd just stretched barely minutes ago, her body felt stiff from her own muscles tensing up in his presence.

'I could kill you right now'

His animalistic voice played on repeat in her mind: it was undeniable - he terrified her. But at the same time, she couldn't help but think there was more to him than that. More than just revenge. A man under the monstrous mask. And by hell, she was determined to find out just what.

But right now? Now, she just wanted to do nothing. Her hair splayed out in loose curls behind her as she leant against the foot of the bed, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. In the quiet, the rapid beating of her heart became unbearably loud, and blood rushed through her ears. Her pale lips parted, and Sienna attempted to calm her anguished heart and slow her breathing.

Though the window, the sun had just hit a point in the sky where a single beam of light shone through the window, illuminating Sienna's lap in a golden glow. Feeling the warmth through her jeans, she smiled, letting her mind finally drift into unconsciousness.


	3. Hauntings

Sienna stood in the middle of the alleyway, her brown curls billowing in the strong wind, watching as Jack Morrison stepped carefully towards her. He placed each foot precariously on the wide ground, as if one wrong step would lead to his death. Worried, Sienna made an effort to move forward, but her feet refused adamantly, remaining glued to the concrete ground defying her control. As if sensing her distress, Morrison lifted a hand towards her.

'It's okay, I'm here. I've got you.'

His voice was gruff, and sounded out of breath, but upon hearing his voice it soothed her, and Sienna relaxed under his gaze, feeling safe. He was getting closer now, but was still at least 50 metres away.

His voice kept calling out to her: 'I'm here. I've got you', but as he repeated it over and over and over Sienna couldn't help but feel as if she were listening to a broken tape recorder. His gruff voice became unfamiliar, and although it still sounded warm there was an undertone that didn't seem right.

'I'm here. I've got you. I've got you. I've got you.' He lifted his gun towards her, and Sienna's eyes widened as she struggled to move her feet once more, grabbing her legs and hauling. The once soothing tone had become anguished, and Sienna could do not nothing but look into the barrel of Jack's gun.

_No, not Jack. A soldier. Just another one; Soldier number 76._

He still repeated his lines, drawing unbearably closer still, until he stopped a bare few metres away. Still aiming his gun at her, his voice was muted now.

'I've got you. I've got you in my sights.'

Three gunshots sounded, painfully ricocheting through Sienna's eardrums as she braced for their impact. Three dull 'thuds' signified their target was hit. The soldier lowered his weapon.

The eerily musical tinkling of metal against metal echoed in the alleyway, and Sienna whirled around, feeling her body for wounds, yet finding none. As she turned, a huge, shadowed man stood, picking three silver bullets out of his armour and flesh with his black talons. Staring straight at her through the black, empty eye holes in his mask, he spoke, and his words devoured her.

'You can't kill what's already dead, Sienna'.

Gawping, the girl was paralysed to watch as Reaper lifted a gloved hand up to his mask, gripping it by the sides.

'No!' Sienna managed to choke out as the white mask shifted, about to reveal the man, the monster, underneath.

The mask was gone.

In its place was a huge white barn owl, that spread its wings and leapt towards Sienna, clawed toes poised at a deadly angle towards her face, about to dig into her eye sockets and rip her bloody eyes out and-

Her head slipped from the foot of the bed and hit the floor with a muffled bang, jolting Sienna awake immediately. Her hands rushed to her face, ghosting over her cold eyelids before shifting down to touch the places on her chest where the bullets would have penetrated, had...  
Had Reaper not taken them instead.

_It was... a dream?_

_No, it was a nightmare._ Sienna's mind corrected her.  
Attempting to ignore any potential implications of her dream, she cast her soft, sleepy eyes towards the window. The sun had barely moved, allowing her to assume she'd only been unconscious for a short amount of time. A draft of wind suddenly shifted the air in the room, and her freckled nose twitched, catching a savoury aroma.

'Obviously not that short an amount of time, though' She spoke aloud, eyeing up a tray of food that had been placed precariously on the empty dresser. She hadn't seen him come in, and once again she quelled a burst of anger that reared its head inside her.

'How dare he treat me like some kind of pet! I am not a toy, and we'll see how he likes it when his little toy fights back!' She growled out in rage, aware that her voice fell only to the silent walls, but she didn't care anymore.

Stomping over to the tray, she lifted a silver aluminium lid to find some kind of chicken dish, with a thick sauce. It was blatantly just a takeaway, and Sienna couldn't help but picture the ridiculous image that was Reaper picking up a takeaway in store. She stifled a small laugh when she realised he would have been in those 'grim reaper' clothes too. Her anger began to subside.

'Probably scared the shit out of the staff, that's pretty hilarious'.

She pulled the dish towards her and sat back on the floor to eat. Noting the distinct lack of cutlery, she sighed and picked up the food with her hands. At least she was being fed, and it was surprisingly decent she thought, taking a bite. For a takeaway.

Polishing off the food quicker than her hands could feed her, she washed her hands in the adjoining bathroom and returned to clear up the food, ignoring the odd aftertaste it left in her mouth. Mustn't have been that fresh.

Finishing, she leant back against the foot of the bed again, feeling the cold of the wooden floors seep though her jeans.

The constant isolation was anguishing, and Sienna was starting to feel the impacts of the dark, swelling silence that surrounded her uninterrupted. As the darkness closed in, the shadows seemed to taunt her and pull at the edges of her mind, whispering to her to let go, to let insanity take her.  
It's actually worse than having Reaper himself here thought Sienna suddenly, but then baulked at her own mind's boisterousness, recoiling at the idea. She shifted uncomfortably on the floor, her jean buttons scratching at the wood below.

On her full stomach, her eyes closed and her resolution hardened. She opened her lips to speak, and her voice came out strong.  
'I'm going to catch him and force him to...'

Sienna's forceful statement was halted as she pondered her plan quickly.

'... Let me go.'

Sienna frowned, eyebrows knitting by together in a fuzzy line. Even she could hear the weakness in her conclusion and she pinched herself at the thought of having something so undefined as a plan of action.  
'What a shitty notion... At least it's better than nothing, though.'

But how was she going to do it? The question popped into her head, and she shook her brown curls out, feeling the knots weighing heavily on her skin - dry and unwashed. The crisp layer of dirt and ash still on her hair crackled a bit, and Sienna flinched at the sound.

'Gross. Maybe a shower couldn't hurt first?' She mused, fingers trailing absentmindedly down her skin.

Where she touched, the thin ash layer fell away to reveal the flushed, golden brown skin beneath, and Sienna gathered herself up off the floor to head to the bathroom. She'd cleaned herself up a bit this morning at the sink, but hadn't had the guts to strip knowing that Reaper could burst in. It was too vulnerable, she felt.

'Well, he's not here very often.'

She pulled off her top and placed a towel within reach of the shower

'And considering he only recently dropped off my food he won't be back soon'

The water flooded quickly into the bath, and the heat immediately began to steam up the glass surrounding the shower.

'So I might as well enjoy myself for just a bit of time'

The hot water hit her skin, and the shower floor turned a cold shade of grey as the ash washed off her body, swirling in little whirlpools before it was taken away down the drain.

Sienna tilted her head back, letting the steam clear her mind and wash away her fears. Her hand came into contact with a lone bar of soap, plain but partially used. Ignoring the large hand shaped imprints on the bar, she ran it along her body.

'I wonder when he'll come back to collect the plate? Doubt he'd risk leaving something sharp...' Her voice was barely a whisper above the rushing of the water, but it resonated loudly within her.

As quick as she could, she pushed some of the lather through her tangled locks, and leapt out of the shower, grabbing her towel.

'There is no way I am being caught by him in such a moment of weakness' she growled, angry at herself for not thinking about it before, and hastily dressed herself, still half wet, sticking to her clothes.

Suddenly out of the heat of the bathroom, Sienna staggered at the cold, and a sudden wave of tiredness that overcame her.

'W-what?' Her voice gasped out as the room rocked, and she took a few deep breaths. 'Calm, Sienna. You're stressing yourself out. He hasn't done anything... Yet.'  
Another wave of nauseous tiredness hit her and she sat down. The room stopped swaying like a pirate ship, but a thick fog-like tiredness still swelled in her head. The food plate was still there. Her eyelids drooped, covering her cocoa eyes.

_So much for not wanting to be vulnerable._

Long eyelashes fluttered for a few minutes before Sienna finally gave up and closed them for good, letting sleep consume her, but not before a sliver of light struck out from behind a widening crack in the door.


	4. Try Harder

Sienna remembered the light, but not the figure that came after it, and punched the floor so hard her she felt the bruising on her knuckles appearing almost immediately.

'For Mercy's sake! Fuck him! Why is this so difficult?'

It was her third day of isolation, and it was no easier than the last.

_In fact, it's quite the opposite. But... At least I have a plan now. We wait for tonight._

The only reason she had failed yesterday was she had made herself overly tired by stressing out too much.

Today was another story. Today she'd catch him. Well rested with no need for showering distractions, her plan was infallible.

And so the hours passed, slowly but surely. With nothing better to do, Sienna took to scratching curling designs into the wooden floorboards, wearing down her nails that had begun to grow too long.

More time passed, and yet no sign of the curling black mist that accompanied Reaper's arrival. Soon, Sienna had to move to another space on the floor, having carved all the panel space within her arms reach with minute patterns, twisting and turning in all directions. It almost looked a bit like a black magic talisman, weaving channels through the wood that drew the eye in almost hypnotically.

By the time Sienna had worn down her all her nails on the wood, nearly a quarter of the wide room had been covered. And there was still no sign of the shadow cloaked monster who haunted her dreams, shifting in the shadows. Sighing, Sienna picked herself off the floor and headed to the toilet, praying he wouldn't come in the short time she left the main room.

Reappearing a few seconds later, Sienna's heart sank to her feet at the sight of an aluminium plate that sneered at her from the dresser top.  
'He must be able to see me' Sienna realised, distraught and furious.

'There's no way he can have such luck with timings.'

Taking deep breaths, she lifted it and sat down, calming her mind's turmoil that threatened to spill and result in a loud and embarrassing tantrum.  
It was a dry dish this time in the foil.

At least I won't have to leave to wash myself up again.

Making sure not to create a mess with the food, Sienna hastily fed herself with her hands, and then leant back against the wall to wait for her captor to appear. One hand rested on the plate, and the other pressed against the floor, ready to push off and leap up at a seconds notice. A minute ticked by and the last flickers of sunlight passed away over the horizon, dimming the room to a dusky grey light.

Sienna's fingers drummed impatiently on the floorboards, and the sound reverberated mutedly around the room, being absorbed by the concrete underlayer. The food had been sweeter than yesterday, but oddly enough had the same bitter aftertaste as yesterday's meal.

_Soon. Soon he'll be here, and I'll have my chance. One chance._

But as soon as the thought had travelled through her brain, a familiar muggy feeling penetrated her mind, and the room rocked.

Immediately connecting the aftertaste of the food to her sudden nausea and undeniable tiredness, she pushed away the foil plate in disgust and heaved herself to her feet, swaying.

'Stay awake, Sienna! Come on!' In a last ditch attempt to carry out the plan, she staggered towards the door on heavy feet, feeling the world fall out from beneath her with every step. The feeling in her head grew with more pressure, and keeping her eyes open finally became a losing battle. Unable to go any further, Sienna's body collapsed like a ragdoll, nearly unconscious on the floor barely a meter from the entrance.

The door opened, and the same golden light flooded in, blinding Sienna instantaneously. Her hand raised in reflex, and her slack jaw managed to utter out the weak words '...S-stop' just moments before everything went dark and a familiar voice like crushed velvet grew ever nearer:

'Try harder next time, Girl.'

And then, so softly that Sienna wasn't sure if she had hallucinated it, something touched her cheek and a breathy whisper floated past her ear.

'I'm looking forward to it'.

Sienna was still crumpled on the floor when she woke the next day, one arm remained plastered across her face as it had been in defence the other day.  
It was impossible. Reaper knew everything she did. She would never escape, not unless he let her. And Jack, oh Jack, he'd be killed if he ever got close: in the alleyway it had been fair game, but this was Reaper's home turf. The soldier would have no chance.

Giving herself a few moments to adjust to the situation, she allowed her optimistic side to talk herself through the events of the previous day, stopping her eyes welling with tears before they overflowed.

'I've found the reason why I can't catch Reaper.' That was good, wasn't it?

'Although he seems to be able to see me all the time, he also doesn't come in the room at the same time.' She paused her monologue for a moment.

'Does that mean he's scared of confrontation?'

No, scared was definitely the wrong word.

'Maybe he finds it easier to deal with me asleep or unconscious?' Now that was an interesting point. Was it sheer laziness or maybe something deeper? Or, as unexpected as Sienna would have thought it... Maybe a form of humanity or compassion?

Before her capture, Sienna had only been able to see him as a heartless killing machine, emotionless and fulfilling the role of the mythical Grim Reaper perfectly. But what had he done to her really? Sure, he'd threatened to kill her and had definitely, definitely scared the hell out of her on more than one occasion... But he had never hurt her - not even for information on Jack. He fed her. For Mercy's sake she even had his own bedroom!

As unpleasant as the situation was for her, Sienna couldn't help but see a side of Reaper that she never thought she would. And she hated herself for it.

'Reaper! I know you're there. I know you can see me. I'm sick of this, of you; come and speak to me face to face!'  
Silence was her only response; disrupted dust motes in the air returning to their drifting state.

'Are you a coward? Too scared to face a defenceless little 'Girl'?' She used the nickname he had forced on her, hoping to provoke some kind of reaction, but once again nothing happened. It was infuriating.

'Jack said you were a wimp but I couldn't believe a heartless murderer like you could be so weak. I guess he was right.' Sienna called out one final time, and she could swear the shadows in the corners of the room became deeper, but once again she was met with disappointing silence.

For the first few hours after that, Sienna watched her back, keeping an eye on the menacing shadows, but the silence continued and Reaper seemed to have completely ignored her. _Bastard._

'I think I'll die of boredom before Reaper can even hold me against Jack.' Having nothing to do made her restless and uncomfortable, and she eyed her nails to see if she could carve the floorboards some more without hurting herself. The answer was no.

A sigh escaped her reddened lips, and she took a glance out of the window. It was still morning, hours away from Reaper's next visit to deliver food, and Sienna had reached a point where she no longer cared about herself. The silence was killing her, from the inside out, and there was no foreseeable way to stop it.


	5. Breakdown

Sienna had finally reached the point where, in theory, she was no longer scared of Reaper. Her mind had turned him into a movie villain, with an unreal quality to his actions - and an odd sense that any fear of him was irrational.

In reality, his massive figure and rumbling voice terrified her more than anything she'd come across so far; but in her constant isolation a switch had been flicked inside her and something had changed. Sienna no longer cared. She was past caring.

Her family had died in the omnics wars, as had many of her friends: it had been brutal and violent, but Sienna had survived alone. The only person in her life was Jack Morrison now, and although he wasn't old, he wasn't the young Strike Commander he had once been in his youth. Especially considering her situation, he wouldn't be around much longer either, she suspected. It wasn't a harsh judgement, just a factual one, but the sudden morbidity of it made Sienna snap back to reality, a shiver running down her spine.

Judging that the time until Reaper would come visit to be long enough, Sienna headed to the shower to calm down.  
The tiled floor was still wet from her last shower, having left it in great haste, so Sienna threw her clothes onto the bed in the main room quickly before hopping in.

This time, her muscles were truly able to relax in the hot shower, as Sienna turned up the heat just to the edge of scalding, feeling it trip her nerves and making her feel alive again. The days had been long and dark and quiet and the roar of the water through the shower, droplets running in soft paths down her skin, pushed away the reality of her capture.

For just a second, Sienna allowed herself to fall back into her memories; of the day Soldier 76 picked her up off the street, months ago now. It was the first kindness anyone had shown to her since the war, and he had done it without hesitation. Yes, she'd briefly known him from before the war, but she doubted he'd have done any different if she'd been a complete stranger.

Underneath that gruff, cold exterior, Jack Morrison was truly a kind hearted man who would always do the right thing - Sienna knew that as a fact. Over the past month she'd grown to know him better than she ever thought she would.

But that was the deal.

When Reaper had first said it, Sienna hadn't spoken up.

'It was supposed to be an upper hand for me' She grumbled.

'But to even think of Jack like that would be... Wrong.' And it was just that. Reaper believed Sienna was Jack's 'little girlfriend', and that would be why he would come to rescue her, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

'If anything, it's me who sees our relationship as meaning anything. That man... He's like a father to me now. But Jack would do what he's done for me, for anyone. It's in his heart, I'm no special person.'

Sienna truly believed her own words, so as she tilted her head under the shower stream, she knew he wouldn't come for her. Nothing mattered anymore.

Stepping out of the shower a few quiet minutes later, the origin of the clear liquid running down her cheeks was indeterminable. Grabbing one of the towels on the side, Sienna opened the bathroom door to fetch her clothes, having forgotten she'd left them on the bed, her mind still wrapped preoccupied in her haunting memories.

Padding quietly across the floor in her towel, Sienna reached her clothes on the bed, not noticing the illuminated figure leaning in plain sight against the window. As she adjusted her towel slightly Reaper shifted his leather clad feet on the floor, producing a quiet yet painful scraping sound that made her eardrums crawl.

'Oh'

Sienna couldn't help but stare, having snapped her head towards him immediately at the sound. She clutched her towel more tightly to herself, feeling her legs weaken, and willed herself to stay standing.

'That's all you have to say to me?' His voice was uncharacteristically soft, but still carried that lilting, gravelly tone. He leant forward off the window, his huge frame blocking out the light.

'What, after all that confidence earlier? Has the cat caught your tongue, or did you learn your place finally?' The words were still harsh and his throat growled, but his malicious tone wavered momentarily.

For a moment neither of them spoke, and Reaper waited expectantly, twitching claws creating dancing shadows on the ground. Suddenly, he seemed to tire of the silent game and stalked forwards, creating a circle around her.

'Did I finally break you, little Girl? Or do you just miss your cowardly Soldier that much?' Sienna's eyes had glazed over, and her senses dulled. Nothing mattered anymore, really.

'Will you still miss him when I rip him limb from li-' the mocking interrogation was cut off all of a sudden.

'Jack's not coming.' Sienna didn't even bother to hide her emotions, and her own voice cracked, betraying her already red eyes. Reaper was behind her now, but he'd stopped moving and it was impossible to gauge his precise location.

Sienna heard a rustling, and then his voice sounded as if directly above her, his silky cloak licking at the sides of her arms.

This time it was barely more than a whisper, a mere breath of air, but in Sienna's ears it was louder than anything he'd said before. 'And why, do tell me, wouldn't he come for his little girlfriend?'

Unable to control the pricking feeling in her eyes, she clenched them shut and her hands balled into fists.

_Stay strong, Sienna. You were taught to be brave._

'That's not... I'm not-...' She paused, gathering her nerve.

'We're not like that. Jack just... He picked me up off the street. I'm nothing to him.'

Suddenly, Sienna whirled round to face her tormentor, and found herself a centimetre from his wide chest, strapped up in black armour and ammo. She was tall, but he was taller and she couldn't help but feel tiny and intimidated; dwarfed by his enormous size as soon as she saw it. Immediately she could smell him: musky, dark and... Earthen?

It was too human a scent, and threw Sienna's mind off course so that she stumbled slightly. As quick as a flash, Reaper's hand reached out and grabbed her arm, stabilising her and pulling her back in.

'I thought I made it clear I would kill you' the white mask drew closer, and Sienna could feel his breath on her neck now.

'Jack would never know. So don't lie to me, Girl. I will make your life living hell.' As he growled out his threats, the clawed hand on her bare arm grew tighter and tighter and Sienna couldn't help but flinch away, but Reaper's iron grip kept her immobilised.

Memories of her capture days ago were drawn out; only this time she couldn't feel his claws. Thankfully.

'It's not a lie. That's why none of this matters' Sienna tilted her head down, her hair catching on his armour. 'He won't come, and if you don't want to let me go... I guess that doesn't matter either.'

Gabriel Reyes, the man under Reaper's mask, shifted as if uncomfortable with the situation, and this time is was him who remained silent for a moment. Without another word, he gruffly let Sienna's arm go, turning abruptly away and striding towards the door, silent shadows seething around his feet like snakes.

Getting over the shock of his sudden movement, Sienna watched him leave and called out once more, clutching onto her towel like a security blanket.

'I know you see everything I do. I know I can't escape from this place. But-'

she considered her words quickly, gritting her teeth 'but _please_. I can't take the silence anymore.' Tucking her pride away, Sienna kept her voice strong. 'I don't want to beg, but please.'

His cloak continued to swipe the floor as Reaper quickly crossed the few paces to the door, ignoring the girl's pleas.

The door opened to let him out, and Sienna sank to her knees in despair at his lack of acknowledgement, towel bunching up on the floor.

_This is the end, I guess. I've lost my only chance._

'Reyes' Sienna's voice was soft and quiet, but Reaper didn't even hesitate as she watched his back disappear behind the slamming door, taking her hopes and crushing them like her arm in his iron grip.


	6. Light It Up

After the events of yesterday, Sienna had slumped on the floor, resigned to an unknown, miserable future waiting to either be killed or thrown out to die.

Reaper hadn't even returned to bring her food for the evening, confirming her fears.

But as she dragged herself out of bed the next morning, quelling the pained noises from her empty stomach, yellow light drew in her vision.

_The door._

The artificial light was seeping around the crack, and it was open. Just partially, but definitely enough so that it was noticeable.

_Did Reaper leave it open by accident?_

Sienna stepped cautiously over to it, buzzing with nervous excitement.

'No,' She murmured 'I definitely remember the slamming sound last night when he shut it..'

Quickly rushing to the bathroom to clean herself up and use the toilet, she hopped back to the door and gingerly gripped the edge of the frame. The light behind it wasn't much, but compared to the dark, dingy bedroom it was glorious.

Sienna peered around the corner, noting how the dark painted walls did little to cover up the abundant natural light streaming from the ceiling windows. Temporarily ignoring any reasoning Reaper may have had for leaving it open, Sienna slid round the door, pulling it back nearly closed behind her, and looked down the hallway.

After days of darkness, lit only by the small window light, Sienna's eyes struggled to become accustomed to the brightness and she squinted at her surroundings. Reaper obviously hadn't been fond of how light his apartment was, as dark rolls of fabric curtain had been haphazardly draped across the wide windows and ceiling glass, creating odd shadows on the floor.

_Speaking of Reaper, I wonder if he's around?_

Sienna shivered, murmering under her breath. 'He's probably watching me right now'

Undeterred, she placed soft feet on the floor as she padded quietly down the hall, white socks sliding on the wood. At door on her left didn't budge with a hard push, so she ignored it and carried on. At the end, the corridor opened out into a wide room, with a sort of... Lounge area? Not that she could imagine the killer 'lounging'. It was almost a laughable thought.

But still, two long black sofas and a modest TV were placed around a low coffee table, overlooked by a sort of kitchen-bar area.

It was wrong. To see such...  
'Normality' Sienna breathed, finishing her thought out loud. A strange sense of ease came over her, and she made her way around the space, examining all the small details as if trying to figure out Reaper himself.

Something caught her attention, and she wandered over to a bookcase of cold, grey stone. But it wasn't the shelf that interested her, more a photo frame that resided on it. Slowly reaching out to pick it up, time stood still as a rush of air and a distinctive whooshing sound rebounded off the cold walls, and Sienna found a strong, armoured arm wrapped around her neck before she could blink.

'You touch nothing. Remember who I am, I will kill you in an instant.' His voice hissed out, accompanied by a tightening of the arm around her throat and crushing a tiny confirmational squeak out of Sienna.

He was gone as soon as he had appeared; as was the photo frame Sienna soon realised, rubbing her neck.

'If he still didn't terrify me, that whole death threat thing would be getting a bit old by now. It's not very original, I have to say.'

It was true, although Reaper himself was undeniably a force to be reckoned with, his actions hadn't been all that bad over the the period of her capture. Especially today...

'Something I said yesterday must have affected him. Maybe, just maybe, I spoke to Gabriel Reyes instead of 'Reaper'.' It was an interesting thought, and Sienna stored it in her mind for later: now she'd explore some more. What was more interesting was that he'd left her out of the room, and had said nothing that implied it wasn't all his plan for her. He purposefully let her out.

And that was when it sparked within her mind. _I'll change him._

Sienna could tell there was something else, something other than just pure murderous instinct... Gabriel Reyes still existed in there: 'I just have to draw him back out. Somehow.'

Considering that she probably had a long time to plan how to do that, the brunette headed over to the kitchen area, spying a tall fridge. Her stomach was going to eat itself soon if she didn't remedy the situation. Grabbing hold of the door, she heaved it open and peered inside, feeling relief at the cool rush of air after days of being hot and stuffy.

'I'm sure 'don't touch anything' doesn't include the fridge' was all Sienna said as she eyed up a pot of hummus and some carrots at the bottom.  
Surprisingly healthy.

Pulling them out she placed them on the side and looked for something else. A bowl with a crude foil lid caught her attention, and she grabbed it as well and shut the fridge. First she'd deal with the carrot - but as she poked round the kitchen there wasn't a knife or peeler to be found.

_I should have guessed that one. No weapons._

Making do with just dipping the carrot as it was, she tucked in, and munched her way through all the hummus quickly and turned to the bowl. Lifting the lid, a warm spicy aroma drifted out and Sienna's mouth watered. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious.

Grabbing a spoon and wolfing it down, it tasted even better than she could have imagined, and brought back memories of her childhood. The time when her mother had taken her to the new Mexican restaurant in town for her birthday. It has been a big birthday treat - eating out was expensive and money was a luxury. But that day she'd eaten so well, and even had some leftovers to take home.

Maybe it was a childish memory, but Sienna had always longed to go back someday. Taking the last bite, savouring the taste, she realised it couldn't compete with whatever this was. It tasted somewhat more wholesome; yet Sienna couldn't put a finger on it.

Suddenly remembering her precarious situation, she chided herself for losing concentration for a bit and headed to the front door in blind hope Reaper had left it open like he had her door. To no avail, Sienna wasn't surprised to find it locked with no key.

'Well, to somebody who can teleport I would doubt he even owns the key anymore.'

After confirming that escape really was futile, Sienna headed over to the dark, heavy curtains on the other side of the room, and dragged them back, revealing a huge pair of glass doors were behind them, and light promptly flooded the apartment.  
Turning around to re-view her surroundings, the place actually looked quite nice.

'Must have been quite expensive too, judging by that view.' And it was immense. The place was much higher up than Sienna had realised, at least 40 stories off the floor in some kind of high rise building, overlooking the city. Through the glass, she could even see the old Overwatch headquarters - Hidden in plain sight. Oh how Jack would hate this.

It was nearly evening before anything changed. Having given up trying to find the TV remote, Sienna had instead managed to work out how to use the old portable radio she found in a cupboard. Finding a suitable station, relief filled her on finding out there didn't seem to be any disastrous events on the news, so she settled down to watch the sun set over the city with an odd soundtrack of Back in Black, by AC-DC.

_Not quite what I would have picked to listen to for a romantic sunset, but at least it's a good song._

It was late when the sun finally disappeared below the cityscape, colouring the sky with a watercolour of oranges and pinks in glorious hues. If it weren't for the frosting of snow that lay on the occasional roof, it would almost have seemed like a summer's evening: warm and comfortable. The silhouette of the city seemed to sway softly in the pale light, and Sienna found herself unbearably relaxed, as if just waiting for Reaper to reappear.

And as she thought it, it revealed itself.

**'I thought I told you not to touch anything'**

_For a masked man,_ Sienna thought, watching him from her cosy sofa spot, _he sure is easy to read._


	7. Domestic Goddess

Sienna would have laughed if she hadn't been scared he'd mutilated her or something.

After all, he did say not to touch anything. And Sienna, well... Touched everything.

The curtains had been drawn and tied open, she had stolen food from his fridge and left evidence of it on the counter, and had even taken to tidy up the clutter and rubbish that littered the place.

He stood facing her, his huge body heaving, and she could tell he was furious. AC-DC was still playing in the background, and Sienna couldn't help but feel it suited him far better than it did the sunset she was watching earlier.

She reached our slowly and turned the music off, plunging them into silence, and his harsh breathing became audible. It sounded almost... pained.  
'While you are here,' He spat out 'you play by my rules, Girl.'

He flexed his hands, his metal claw tips reflecting the light that streamed through behind her, but seemed to decide it wasn't worth the effort and turned his back on her. As he walked, Sienna saw her opportunity leaving, and jumped off the sofa towards him; the sound halting Reaper in his tracks.

A pause. Then 'Thank you.'

It was a simple statement, but Sienna saw Reaper's broad shoulders tense up, and before she could react he was right in front of her, his claws wrapped around her neck, shoving her roughly into the glass door.

As she hit it, vibrations trembled throughout the apartment, and all the wind was knocked from her lungs leaving her gasping, struggling for air, but helpless to do anything with a shadowed claw crushing her throat.

'I don't care about you, get that into your thick head'

Speechless, Sienna choked, beginning to see darkness spreading across her vision unbelievably quickly and she grabbed his arm and pulled, failing against his massive strength.   
Desperately flailing now, consciousness leaving her, she lashed out with her legs and managed to knee him somewhere.

It hadn't seemed a very strong kick at the time, but Reaper's leg collapsed under him and he dropped to one knee, releasing her throat and ripping free an animalistic roar at the same time.

Although finally out from his grasp, Reaper had her backed into a corner and his body blocked any escape. Gasping for air, trembling, she leant her head back against the glass and accepted her fate... But nothing came.

Seconds later when the darkness had faded from her vision she looked down to see Reaper attempting to heave himself up again, clutching his thigh and heard a hissing of pain.

_Did I really hurt him that much?_

Her questioning was answered as Sienna's eyes skimmed over his dark attire, finally noticing the dark, wet patches that littered his body. No, it wasn't her... He'd been beaten at his own game when he left, and was paying the price now.

Suddenly not feeling so helpless, Sienna kneeled down as well, tilting her head as she got closer, and looked up into his mask. He glared at her, but she reached out a hand undeterred.

Reaper wasted no time in shunting backwards, letting out a ferocious roar in a mixture of pain and anger, but stumbled on his leg in a rare moment of weakness.

'L-let me help you!' For a reason unbeknownst to her, she had offered to help her captor, her tormentor... Her enemy.

'Don't touch me'

His voice was coarse and rough, strained and nothing like the silky mocking voice she'd been hearing over the past few days.

_He's in serious pain._

Black mist suddenly gathered around his feet, and shadows crawled out from the corners of the rooms towards him but Sienna wasn't letting go of him that easily. Lunging forward, she managed to grasp the lapel of his leather coat and was immediately enveloped in a swirling mass of screaming darkness, deafening wind rushing through her ears.

_Just like my first day here._

They landed heavily, and although her head was spinning Sienna spared a second to look at her unfamiliar surroundings - a dark room with another sofa, with a pillow hastily thrown onto it. Reaper has another apartment? She didn't get to finish her thought however, as Reaper had dragged himself up and drawn his shotguns out, harshly shoving bullets into the ammo slot.   
Realising what was happening, Sienna threw herself forwards at him, knocking them both to the floor. Her hands, her chest... Were covered in blood. 

_His blood._

In her distraction, Reaper managed to flip them both over with strength she didn't know he had left, and sit straddling her hips, muscled thighs crushing her arms to her sides, and leant over her. Shuddering, he drew up his shotgun and pressed the unforgiving, cold metal into her forehead - hard.

This was the end. Sienna forced her brain to stay focused, but her eyes closed with the image of Reaper's white, bone mask seared into her brain as the last image she would ever see. The Grim Reaper had finally come for her, and she had brought him right upon herself.

All she could do now was wait for it to end.

Except, Sienna heard a strange huff from the man above her, and the gunmetal on her forehead slid off, the shotgun clattering to the floor. Reaper was breathing heavily, leaning so far over her that she could almost have kissed him.

His thighs suddenly loosened against her arms and Sienna ripped them free just in time to catch Reaper's falling body, her hands planting firmly on his solid chest. Just in time, she had prevented him from crushing her as he collapsed - unconscious - thick red blood seeping through his black armour.

Her arms strained under his weight, her daily workout routine proving useful but not undefeatable. Unable to hold him up for long, Sienna realised she had to get out from underneath him. Thrusting a leg up between his thighs, she wrapped a foot around his calf and used it to pivot, rolling him over onto his side in one heavy thump.

Finally able to move herself, she leant back, panting, and then carefully looked at the man bleeding out on the floor in front of her. She'd seen Jack like this a hundred times, and patched him up a thousand more, but for some reason this terrified her. Blood was already pooling on the floor around his shoulder, a grim reminder that not even the strongest amongst us are invincible.

Scrambling up off the floor, her eyes tore up her surroundings looking for something, anything, that could help. Trying the door, it was locked and Sienna finally realised this room was the locked door in the corridor she had found this morning - where he'd been sleeping on the sofa. No time to think about what that means.

Continuing her search, she managed to find a medic pack - a godsend - just like the one she used to use to patch up Jack. Ripping open the packaging, she pulled out the stitching thread and all the gauze and tape it had, placing them on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Now, cautiously, she kneeled next to the bloodied man and timidly pulled at his coat lapel, afraid he would wake up...

And try to murder me again. Pushing aside her thoughts, Sienna set to work with scissors, cutting through the thick padding around his collarbone revealing gloriously dark, smooth skin underneath. She'd never seen him without the mask or armour before, and suddenly seeing his cocoa skin was... Surprising, to say the least.

'I'm only doing this because I can't get out of this room without you,' Sienna told the unconscious man, 'I owe you nothing anymore'.

Her fingers definitely didn't linger over his bare chest; nor did her face heat up with a rush of blood to her cheeks. _Of course not.  
It's just the heat of the room. _

Shaking some sense into herself and getting back to work, Sienna cut open the rest of the material covering his torso, having to peel back dented metal plating that lay underneath the black leather.   
Finally having a clear view, she leant back to survey the visible damage, but was distracted. Pale scars littered his body, like a hot whip had been dragged along him and the wounds had never truly healed. But this wasn't the time to think about that.

Multiple small lacerations, three deep cuts and one... Stab wound?

Sienna sat back on her haunches for a short moment and looked at him in awe. He'd managed to still be walking even after taking such a beating, and if she wasn't high on adrenaline Sienna felt as though she may have cried.

Grabbing antiseptic, she first cleaned out the stab wound on the left side of his chest, appreciating that it wasn't that deep even if it was spilling blood at a rate of knots. Deciding this was the most important injury, she grabbed the stitching needle and got to work. Not bothering with any pain relief - he was unconscious thankfully - she had it nearly sewn up and was about to tie the thread when Reaper released a quiet groan from under his mask.

Shit, he's waking up. I'm not finished.

Deciding it would be better to announce herself than shock the unpredictable man, she placed her one free hand on his chest and spoke.

'I'm sewing you up, and if you try to move you're going to lose more blood. And then probably die.' She tacked onto the end for good measure, and felt his breathing speed up.  
He was silent for a moment and then grunted in response, as a kind of affirmation Sienna guessed.

They were silent for a while as she worked, moving onto cleaning the other cuts and taping gauze pads to them. As she continued, she could feel Reaper's eyes on her, staring. He hadn't turned his head at all, so she had no way to really tell, but she could sense it.

And for some reason, she didn't mind.

He broke the silence first with a muffled grunt as she cleaned out a particularly dirty cut, having to open it slightly to remove all the grit. Quickly realising he hasn't been able to smother the sound completely, he spoke up.

'Why didn't you just let me die?'

His words were nothing she hadn't expected, but the way he had said it stopped her dead in her tracks. There was no malice, no anger, no mocking or sultry undertone that laced his words; just an honest question, as if he truly believed nobody would ever do something like this for him.

My heart feels like it's going to break in two... How can this be happening to me? 

Despite having her answer prepared, she still managed to stumble over it.

'I- I can't leave this room. It's locked.' She blurted out far too quickly, and couldn't stop her cheeks from flaming.

It's just as well he's stopped watching me.

Reaper made a low humming sound, but that was it, and Sienna hastily got back to work cleaning the blood off his skin, happy for the distraction. A comfortable silence welled in the air as she worked, cleaning cut after cut until her hands were stained red and were trembling with the extended use. She began resting her arms on his skin now as she reached over him, not worrying so much about his reactions.

After a while, Sienna suddenly felt the body under her hands relax, and the solid muscle became tender and soft.

'... He's fallen asleep?'

Sienna murmered quietly as so not to wake him. Looking at the war machine in front of her now, he seemed more human than she'd ever realised.  
Jack was wrong about him, her brain told her. He's just on the wrong path.

Exhausted, bloodied and itching to sleep, Sienna finished finally patching him up, but surveying her work she noticed the first gauze pads placed already becoming soaked in blood. She sighed aloud, peeling it off to wash it and replace it.

This would be a long night.


	8. Saviour

Refusing to have him disappear in the middle of the night and bleed out somewhere else, Sienna kept herself awake to watch him. Popping to the basin in the corner of the room, she looked at herself in the small mirror on the side.

A monster looked back at her.

A monster, black shadows under her eyes and blood up to her elbows, red stains on her chest, and dewdrops of red seeping from her fingertips -bleeding from stitching mistakes.  
Not bothering to deal with her clothes or arms, she rinsed her hands, watching the water turn a queasy pink colour, and quickly returned to sit next to the sleeping man.

I won't let him disappear this time.

His chest was still bare so Sienna could keep an eye on how his wounds were faring, but the room wasn't so warm and she began to worry about his state getting worse. Shifting closer as so to be able to feel his body heat, Sienna realised she had left it far too late: he was ice cold. His breathing had slowed, too. Panicking, she wrapped his cut up leather jacket around him,

'Mercy help you if you die on me, Reaper. I am not having this today.'

All of a sudden, Sienna thought back to their scramble and fight. She'd kneed him, and it has been his leg that had failed to hold him up. _His leg._

She cursed as she leapt to fetch the scissors and medical equipment again, damning herself loudly this time

'How could I have forgotten? I'm such an idiot...' She took a moment to watch Reaper's mask and then tacked onto the end of her statement 'but I'll still blame you if you die here.'  
Shifting herself down to the man's knees, she found herself sitting in a wet pool of what she thought had been a shadow. 

_Shit._

After trying and failing to get a big enough hold on his trousers to cut, Sienna would have sighed if she hadn't been so panicked. She couldn't get them off without cutting him with the scissors in the process. In true Edgelord fashion, his trousers were tight and clung to his legs like their life depended on it. Ironically, it was his life that depended on it. Seeing no other alternative, Sienna felt a wave of heat creeping up her neck like a pair of warm hands toying with her.

Taking a sneak peak at Reaper's masked face, she couldn't tell whether he was asleep or not anymore. Judging by the temperature of his skin he was probably unconscious. _Hopefully he is otherwise I'm going to die of shame._

Unfortunately for her, he wasn't, and when she reached for his belt and began to tug at it a low groan that managed to turn itself into a growl resonated around the space between them both.

'Leave it.'

Mercifully grateful for the darkness that masked her flaming cheeks, Sienna stopped, but didn't move her hand. In a rush of adrenaline, she spoke up.  
'Either you do it or I do it. I have to treat your wound.'

She thought she heard a sigh of... Annoyance? when, with great effort, a black arm snaked down his side to his right thigh, and suddenly dug one claw in. Gawping in shock, Sienna made to grab his hand

'W-what are you doing?! Do you want to just die here-' He cut her off as he scraped his claw backwards, and grabbed the edge of the now torn fabric, ripping it back to reveal a blackened, deep wound covered in ash and splinters. Where his claw had dug in left a shallow, meagre cut that paled in comparison to his true injury.

'Happy now?'

His voice had been reminiscent of the first day they met, when he mocked and taunted her, but now it lacked strength. Silently, Sienna watched him turn his head to the side, looking away from her. Is he embarrassed? I thought that was my job.

Ignoring any of her questionable feelings, she got to work and managed to bandage him up quickly, but not without eliciting a few pained hisses from Reaper as she cleaned out the wound. Finally finished, she leant back against the sofa, her back arched over his legs. 

Mentally and physically exhausted, she'd gone further than the end point. Her hands numbed by the repetitive movements, weakened by excessive use. Feeling a very familiar feeling creeping up on her, Sienna couldn't keep her eyes open for much longer. Really, exhaustion is not a feeling I want to get used to...

But that was her last conscious thought as exhaustion in the form of sleep overcame her, and the world became as dark as the shadows of the man she'd just saved.

Reaper woke up first, feeling uncomfortable and stiff. Scratchy gauze covered his bare skin - somehow his makeshift leather blanket Sienna had covered him with had slid off onto the floor, bunching up at his side.

He ached. Everywhere. But at least he was alive... Thanks to that girl. Remembering the girl in question, he suddenly became paranoid and violently lifted his head up to look for her. To his great surprise, she wasn't preparing to kill him, or finding an exit strategy, already half out of the window.

Instead, he noted equally aghast that she was curled up on his lower legs, her arms wrapped around him but managing to avoid the wound on his right thigh thankfully. Reaper shoved the thought out of his mind that she looked comfortable in her sleep, somehow.

Reaper's first thought was to kick her off immediately, but as he watched her twitch in her dreams something stopped him momentarily.  
Whatever the feeling was that stopped him, it couldn't beat the anger that welled up in him at this sign of weakness and he promptly whipped his legs out from underneath her and dragged himself backwards.  
Her head hit the floor with an audible crack, and she sat up slowly in a pained, sleepy daze.

'Heyy, whatcha do that for? That hurt...' Her words were slightly slurred, and she was rubbing her eyes, not having opened them yet.  
Immediately after he'd done it, it felt like someone was twisting his guts, the guilt was overwhelming. A thought popped into his head: just like kicking a puppy.

Not understanding what was happening to him, he muttered under his breath, still watching the girl as she fell out of her post-sleep daze.

_'I'll kick as many fucking puppies as I want'._

Hearing his voice, Sienna seemed to snap out of her dream world and come to quickly. Trying to compose herself, she sat bolt upright, her knees tucked underneath her, cheeks - yet again - flaming with colour.

Looking anywhere but at him, she gazed around the room they'd both fallen asleep in. It wasn't much, and was nearly pitch black due to large, dark velvet curtains hanging from the ceiling. Just like in his main room. _He really doesn't like light, does he?_

The sofa took up most of the room, and Sienna regretted not sleeping on it instead of the floor:

'Would have saved my aching butt, and also that hella awkward situation just then' she muttered it so quietly she was sure Reaper wouldn't hear, but she saw him tilt his head out of the corner of her eye. A small part of her mind told her it looked cute. A very large part of her mind consequently punched her in the face.

_What have I gotten myself into? Aw hell, Sienna._

**  
-/**

**Hello! I'd just like to say a big thanks for getting this far into this story, especially if you've been here since the beginning. I'm really grateful for all the views, and this is just a small promise that I'm still here, updating often, so please keep reading!**

**Love and thanks,  
Wren xx**


	9. Touched

Impatient and feeling awkward lying on his apartment floor, Reaper heaved his heavy arms behind him, ignoring the sound of ripping stitches and the searing pain that shot through his chest. If it meant getting away from the girl who made him feel weird, then he would take it.

As he shifted, Sienna suddenly appeared at his side quicker than he'd ever seen her move, and her face was alight. She was furious.

For a second he was glad he had his mask on.

Didn't he scare her anymore? He might as well try to find out, couldn't hurt anymore than the pain he was already in.

'Don't fucking touch me'

His voice was back to normal now. Some emotion flickered across Sienna's face, but it definitely wasn't fear that crossed her bold, green eyes. It was hurt. Before he could attempt to get up again, she had settled down next to his chest and promptly leant over to rip one of the bloodstained gauzes off at full speed, and he knew she did it on purpose.

Deliberately showing no response, he stayed stock still and watched her. Resisting the urge to laugh at her obvious annoyance, he watched her emotions dance across her face, toying with the idea of mocking her.

She really was an open book, and the way her dark curls framed her rounded face reminded him of theatre curtains, hiding the spectacle behind them. Allowing himself a rare moment of self-indulgence, he watched her.

Sienna had ripped originally off the gauze violently to spite him but, if anything, she had just gone and embarrassed herself more. _And now he won't stop staring at me. Great._  
Having burned out the anger within her, shame replaced the fiery feeling and she pulled off the next bloodied gauze more slowly, conscious of her actions now.

'What, you don't want to hurt me anymore?' Reaper's voice regained its lilting song, the humour in his voice piercing the darkness surrounding them. This time however, Sienna noticed, his tone seemed neither well-meaning nor mocking.  
_It's time I finally figured something out._

She raised her eyes to his, meeting only the dark, angrily carved circles on his mask.

'What's up with you?' Sienna clenched her fists, trying to make the words come out clearly.

'One minute you're nice to me, and I feel like maybe you're changing - or that perhaps there is some good in you - but the next moment you're shoving a blazing gun in my face and mocking me like there's no tomorrow.'

Sienna had almost become breathless with her outburst, and she slowly reached over to continue softly pulling the gauze off his marred skin, but as she watched him, she realised something had hit a nerve. He twitched.

Silence.

Sienna let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding as he slowly sat up, his bare chest pushing away her arms, and suddenly the distance between them was nothing.  
Instead of the angry backlash she had expected, he whispered. But the effect was the same, and his rough voice dripped with venom.

'I will never be anything but your worst nightmare. I am not good. I am not _nice._  
A pause penetrated the space between them.  
'I'm not changing, Girl, so don't even try.'

His voice was nothing but a challenge to Sienna, and a second later they were almost nose to nose, the distance between them suddenly insignificant. Wisps of his breath curled out from under his mask, tickling her neck, and Sienna felt the wave of goosebumps trailing up from where she'd felt him.

'You can't change, or you won't?'

He moved away first, Sienna registered with disappointment, and his reaction wasn't the angry one she had come to expect either.

'You don't know anything about me'

'Then tell me...' Taking a risk, Sienna blindly reached out with a hand, placing the lightest of touches on his forearm '... Gabriel.'

The speed at which he turned and ripped his arm away from her touch said it all. He needed no words to tell her how he felt.

_Betrayal._ Even just the word made Sienna cower, and she regretted it immediately as the shadows curled and whisked the man away in seconds, leaving her blown back from the wind, dazzled, confused and - once again - miserable.


	10. Blush

She hadn't noticed when it happened, but somehow Reaper had gotten her back into the original room she'd been held captive in. In a way, she was sort of glad.  
_I don't know how I could have faced him after what happened. I took it too far._

The bruised lump on her head and the cotton-stuffed, drowsy feeling in her mind told her it wasn't her fault for not remembering, but Sienna didn't care.

The door was shut.

Back exactly where I began; _I've ruined everything._

It was hard not to feel the crushing weight of failure on her back, especially as she looked down at her hands, still sore and cut up as a reminder of her efforts.

Letting her arms fall to her sides, she tilted her head up and her curls fell back from her face revealing glistening eyes.

'No, I will not cry'

As if hearing her choked words, a movement caught in the corner of her eyes made her stop. The door opened.

Immediately up and over at it, Sienna was dumbstruck. _Hadn't I messed everything up?_ Taking a deep breath and wiping away a lone tear that had spilled over her cheek, she silently thanked whatever God watched over her. This was a second chance.

Reaper was nowhere to be seen in the apartment, even when Sienna knocked and tried the door opposite her room - understanding that it was where he had been staying since she'd been here... And where she had managed to screw things up last night. _Don't think about that, he's given you another chance Sienna. Use it._

Taking her own words to heart, she got herself some food, turned on the radio, and prepared what she would need for when the 'he' in question returned.

The day passed much as had the previous - except the radio managed to fill the empty silences that had been driving her mad. This time, Sienna didn't feel the need to repeat any of the intricate carvings she had scratched into his floor during her solitary days held in the bedroom.

In a way, the thought was kind of funny. 'At least there's something for him to be grateful about'

With her own needs satisfied from the food, she searched his flat for equipment for later tonight. She was sure she'd need it, and at this point she figured he'd more than likely need it too.

His return had played out scarily similarly to last time, Sienna realised after it had happened. She'd been watching the sunset on the sofa, and as the dusky smog finally turned pink he'd appeared behind her and turned the radio off plunging them into silence.

'Don't call me by that name. That man doesn't exist.'

It was as if he was continuing their conversation for last night, except both parties now watched each other warily. Sienna stood up, purposefully responding softly.  
'I think... I think you need to consider that one again.' She closed her eyes, eyelashes fluttering slightly, having gotten past the hardest part, and started again. 'However, I won't call you that. I understand.'

Reaper's breathing pattern changed, although whether it was from relief or annoyance Sienna had no way to tell. Pushing on forward, she pulled out a medic pack, and gestured vaguely to the sofa she had been sat on.

'Take a seat.'  
She'd meant it nicely, but she could feel the glare he gave from under his mask.

'Need I remind you whose place this is, Girl? I don't take orders.'

Sienna nearly sighed out loud before remembering she wanted to be on his good side. She tried again.  
'Would you like to take a seat?'

This time, he practically growled in disapproval, and as Sienna heard his intake of breath to speak she butted in quickly: 'please?'

His reaction wasn't pleasant as he growled again, but - surprisingly - he grudgingly stomped over to the sofa after a moment of hesitation, towering intimidatingly over Sienna before removing his leather jacket and sitting down heavily. Cautiously placing herself next to him, keeping her eyes trained on his masked face, she picked up the antiseptic wipes.

Mentally wondering where he got a replacement jacket from so soon, her tanned hand reached out for his chest, attempting to find the wounds she'd treated only yesterday. The only problem was that he refused to face her.

Sat adamantly facing away from her, his thick, muscled arms restricted any access to his chest.

'Uhm, could you just, well, uh, face me? A bit? Please?'

Unexpectedly, he gave a throaty laugh and turned to look at her, moving one of his arms over her head and behind so that he leant over her, claws resting on the sofa top. It was obviously a move to intimidate and fluster her, and it worked. Too well, it seemed, as it became clear he realised it too. He leant even closer, and Sienna gulped, raising a hand cautiously to stop his chest getting any closer.  
_I can feel his damn smirk from here, for Mercy's sake. ___

__'Need me to remove my shirt as well while I'm at it?'_ _

__Sienna's jaw nearly dropped. It wasn't so much a flirty line as a taunting one that he'd growled out, but nonetheless she hadn't expected it in a million years. Not really knowing how to respond and feeling more embarrassed by the second, she blurted out an unthinking response._ _

__'A-actually, I can't quite, um, get to your wound so if you.. If y-you wouldn't mind...'_ _

__This time it was his turn to be flustered; and he was so close that she could literally feel the heat emanating off him. His head dropped slightly, and Sienna's own embarrassment was momentarily relieved as she noticed it._ _

___Did I... Did I just manage to fluster him? Reaper?_ The answer was apparently yes, as a second later a muffled noise came out from under his mask.  
Unable to go back on her request now, the brunette decided to play it out. 'Uhm, really sorry I didn't catch that. Can you-'_ _

__'Use scissors!' Reaper had cut her off loudly, the exasperation and embarrassment in his voice blatantly clear. He'd turned his head away from her in the process, and Sienna paused for a moment to consider him._ _

___No, Gabriel definitely still does exist in there._ _ _

__Holding the scissors to the bottom of his black ( _surprise, surprise_ ) t-shirt and receiving no answer to her quick 'May I?' she pulled it outwards and cut upwards from the bottom, the material cutting easily due to the tension of already being stretched. _ _

___Too many muscles, that's why._ _ _

__The thought was inevitable, but Sienna still chided herself for it, mildly disgusted at her own mind. Momentarily, she thought she saw Reaper puff his chest out slightly as the fabric ripped in half, but blamed it on her stupid mind once again._ _

__Now that his chest was bare, she stopped to take a small inventory of what to do. He hadn't removed any of the gauzes that she had put on, even though some were half falling off - made heavy after stemming bloodflows - so those were a first. Her stitching job on what had first seemed like a stab wound last night had held, but on closer inspection the darkness hadn't been very kind to her usual talent, leaving one edge slightly open._ _

__Unthinkingly, she let her fingers trail over his abdomen from one scrape to another and he tensed immediately, eliciting a shaky breath so quiet Sienna thought she'd imagined it.  
'A-ah! Sorry.' She squeezed her eyes shut and was about to take her hands away when his rough voice stopped her: 'get on with it.'_ _

__And she did._ _

__The time continued to pass in silence again, and it would have been comfortable hadn't Sienna furiously blushed every time she had to touch his skin. It wasn't like this last night, but something made her overly conscious of her hands and where she had them; and the result was some sloppy work that she had to correct again almost straight away. By the time she had finished, Reaper had gotten tired of sitting upright and had slumped back against the sofa and Sienna herself fell back against his arm - still along the top of the sofa - when she cleaned up the last marr on his skin. It would require more attention at some other point, but that was all Sienna cared about at the time - some other point. Not now._ _

__At this time, she was too tired to care, and apparently so was the man behind the Reaper mask as they both seemed to doze into quick cat-naps, oddly comfortable in front of each other.  
__At least, that's what it seems like to me. I can't tell if he's sleeping at all, or if he just isn't kicking me off like last time._ __ _

__Reluctant to let herself fall asleep properly in front of the man again for fear of his temperamental personality, she fought off the exhaustion and gathered herself up.  
'Good night... Wake me up if your wounds get worse.'_ _

__Unable to explain to herself why she'd further offered to help him past her time, she quietly padded away to the bedroom - the first time she'd entered it willingly the entire week. She wasn't sure if he was even awake as she said it, but even if he did, he didn't respond as she left him once again bare-chested and covered in gauzes._ _


	11. Routine

The next day he was gone again, and the bedroom door left open once more. 

Making herself some breakfast from the eggs above the fridge, the day blended into the one before, completing the same pattern it had yesterday. Sienna would tidy up the flat, appalled at the mess that had somehow appeared overnight, then listen to the radio for news regarding Overwatch or any hint of what was happening with Reaper every day, and then watch the sunset while waiting for him to come back and patch him up.

It seemed to become something of a routine over the next few days: and each day Reaper became more and more used to her cleaning him up. He'd resisted a few times, but had always seemed to come around after Sienna got serious with him, retaliating against his empty threats. 

After days of the same methodical routine, they had arrived at the point where he would appear and remove his jacket and shirt automatically, throwing himself onto the couch and sometimes lapsing into a light sleep dependent on the extent of his injuries.

By now, over a week had come and gone since her capture and he would come home with new injuries - nothing as bad as the first time but sometimes still serious - and Sienna would comfortably moan at him for being reckless, giving her extra work to do. Sienna wasn't sure when she'd started to refer to the flat as 'home', but she guessed that as it was unusual for her to be in one place for longer than a week it wasn't too odd a thought.

Usually he wouldn't respond to her complaints, or would just huff at her for a few seconds, and tonight was no different.

Sure, he'd been back later than usual but Sienna was feeling twitchy from extensive solitude. First he'd startled her by appearing in front of her on the balcony this time instead of his trademark behind her, and had then proceeded to be in the most foul mood due to the pain from a huge, bloodied bruise on his left rib.

She'd tried to rub a salve into it but her good-willed attempts had been thwarted by the large intimidating man who had pressed a shotgun into her forehead when she so much as ghosted a touch over it.

'Look, do you want me to help you or not?' Sienna was exasperated, watching the man flinch away from her hands for the umpteenth time. 'I have to make do with what you have here in your flat, so unless you buy some new equipment you're going to have to behave and sit still.'

'How about I just shoot you in the forehead and then you can _behave and sit still_ in a coffin for the rest of eternity?'

Sure, Reaper had become more talkative over their time together, one patching up the other, but his words hadn't changed their attitude at all. He still threatened her to high hell, whipping out his shotguns and claws at any given opportunity, but at this point Sienna had taken to ignoring his death threats and taunts. _It's not like he really means them, anyway_ \- at least, that was how she reckoned it was in her head.

After having enough with his childish antics, she threw her hands up in the air.

'Stop being cowardly and let me touch you!' Sienna stopped after she said it, realising her words, but refused to let herself be flustered - once she knew that Reaper would tease her further if she showed any signs, she quickly learned to hide her embarrassment and act as if nothing happened.

He always knew, though. _And,_ thought Sienna, _he loves to irritate me. Mercy help me, I hope Jack comes soon._

The irritating man in question was now leaned relaxed against the sofa back, and he raised his hands up in mock surrender for a few seconds before lying them outstretched along the sofa by his shoulders, leaving his chest and stomach open. Although he remained silent, his subconscious head tilt told Sienna that his mask was hiding a wide, goddamn grin behind it.

However, it was as if he was playing a game with her, as each time she reached over to him he'd flick her hand away, still silent, forcing her to stop again. It was immature, childish, and stupid... But at the same time Sienna loved it.

Her eyes sparkled as she saw a new side to the dark, cold blooded killer. His claws that had ripped through flesh too many times became soft as he manoeuvred them carefully around her hands, and his usually armoured chest lay bare to her eyes. Somehow, she'd managed to become comfortable with the one person who was destined to be her enemy since she had met Jack... Since she had known about Overwatch. But,  
 _I wouldn't have it any other way._

 

Reaper slapped her hand away again, and Sienna's resolve crumbled along with her soft thoughts. Throwing herself towards him, she grabbed both his forearms holding them apart away from his body.

He let out a surprised grunt as her weight landed on his lap, and she held his wrists tight as they wrestled momentarily.

It was over quickly, with Sienna somehow victorious over the huge man, holding each of his arms with her hands. Her own arms remained outstretched to keep his hands away from each other, and they both paused, chests heaving for a few seconds to get their breath back.

As Sienna grinned in her victory, Reaper suddenly shifted his thighs and she slid from her balancing pose, collapsing on him - one knee either side of his hips in a new straddling position.

Still holding his wrists apart Sienna swallowed, and watched Reaper's mask tilt in that familiar gesture.

_Focus, Sienna. He's just messing with your head. It means nothing._

Even though her brain told her one thing, Reaper was slowly moving his hands further apart, extending Sienna's arms outwards and forcing her to lean forward in order to keep a hold of them. Time began to slow down. Slowly, he inched his hands further out, and lifted his head to stare directly into her eyes, watching the red blush on her skin spread like wildfire up her neck. Suddenly it wasn't just a joke anymore.

The sun dipped further over the cityscape, and the shadows in the room seemed to deepen and writhe together. Turning her eyes back towards the man in front, and underneath, of her there seemed something softer in the angles of his mask, even though nothing had changed.

The air between them swelled, and Sienna could feel Reaper's thighs tense underneath her hips. Slowly, she let her hands relax and let go of him, letting her nails trail softly down his forearms. On her own accord this time, she leant forward a fraction, and his own mask tipped as he lifted his back off the sofa towards her.

Sienna shivered slightly, closing the distance between them, and felt his claws touch the small of her back softly, gently, tracing tiny lines when-

A vibration. A phone. _Reaper's phone?_

As if snapped out of a daze, Sienna leapt off him, coughing out her embarrassment and internally cursing herself. When she turned back around to face him, Reaper was pulling out a small black device, his other fist clenched tightly. It took him two seconds to read whatever message had been sent and he looked up.

His voice broke uncharacteristically as he said it.

'I have to go'

Before she could even open her mouth to respond he had vanished, leaving only curling wisps of black smoke on the sofa and a lost, empty sensation in the pits of her heart.


	12. Did You Miss Me?

Waiting for Reaper the next day was agony.

'What am I supposed to say to him?' Sienna asked herself, furious.

Stuck between wondering he'd done it just to play with his 'toy', or to mess with her head, it was making her claw at herself in anguish. Every time she considered it, Sienna couldn't quell the tiny, nagging voice that suggested maybe - just maybe - something there was real. Something had gotten through to him... _Like it had with her._

Squeezing her eyes shut, she banished the though and closed her mind to the world.

By the time the evening came, Sienna waited not-so-patiently on the sofa, attempting to watch the sunset as she usually did and not panic about what to say when he got back.

 

_Did it mean anything?_

 

The thought kept driving itself back to the front of her mind, insatiable without an answer.

But in the end, an answer wasn't necessary.  
Reaper didn't come home, and Sienna wasn't sure whether to panic or be relieved.

'He managed to survive when you weren't here to patch him up,' Sienna told herself, 'so he'll be fine on his own. He's lasted long enough without me. I'm sure he's fine.'

The last sentence didn't sit well in her mind, but with light fast-fading over the horizon Sienna had no choice but to accept her words, hoping he wasn't lying dead in a ditch, or worse deep in a battle with Jack: with Soldier 76.

Still holding onto the small hope that he might return, she stayed sat on the sofa until sleep finally claimed her hours later, just as the dawn chorus began out in the city.

 

Waking up at noon, Sienna's heart dropped to find herself still on the sofa, with no black, masked man in sight. Pushing aside her frantic mind, she calmed herself.  
'I don't need to care about him.' But seconds later her own voice betrayed her. 'Easier said than done.'

It had finally come to the point where Sienna had to accept the fact that she cared for him - in all his threatening, intimidating glory, deep down inside there still was a normal man who felt compassion, loneliness and maybe even... Love.

 _Love,_ that was it. That was the word Sienna had originally banished. Along with the panic swelling inside her stomach there came another feeling; something that squeezed her heart and left her reeling, gasping for breath. As much as Sienna wanted to deny it, her heart told her otherwise. Moving her hands to her arms and hugging herself, she cried for the first in a very long time.

The tears streamed down her reddened cheeks, making her ruby lips glisten as they became swollen. Unable to stop them coming once they had started, she raised her hands to her face, cupping her eyes and sobbed.

An immeasurable amount of time passed as Sienna lay curled up on the sofa, taking refuge in her solitude this time, allowing the sofa cushions to envelop her and take her away. At last, Sienna felt as if being alone was what she wanted, and the tears continued to fall, when a shadow fell upon her.

'Sienna'

The voice was low and soft, and she sat up and turned to it immediately, eyes still wet, shocked. A familiar blue masked visor faced her, with the trademark 76 jacket adorning the man's broad shoulders. Seeing her face, he stopped walking towards her, halting in his tracks. As if lost for words, he opened his arms wide in a surprising gesture for a hug;

'Did you miss me that much?'

 

 _Jack's finally come for me._  
Unable to think of anything else except her missing soldier, she gratefully accepted his hug, jumping off the sofa to him. His arms wrapped around her, strong, tight and warm. Even after everything that happened, Sienna couldn't help but compare Soldier 76's cologne-dusted smell to Reaper's more earthen, natural one and the memory hurt. 

 

As her tears dampened his jacket, slowly coming back to her senses, she felt Soldier 76's hands rubbing her back in a slow, soothing motion. His hands moved to her arms, her shoulders, her neck and her spine in turn and it took Sienna a moment to recognise he was checking for injuries.

She sniffed, controlling her tears finally, embarrassed that he had to see her like this. 'It's okay, he didn't hurt me. You're here now, anyway.'

He pulled her back into a hug again, avoiding eye contact, and his voice was gruff, low. 'I shouldn't have let you go. It took me too long to find you - and it's clear you're not okay. I'm... Well, I'm sorry.'

Sienna pulled away, shocked at the man's apology. He was never one to apologise - his pride too high and his personality too stubborn to allow it; but here he was. Before she could comment, he interrupted urgently. 'We have to go, now. Quickly.'

Turning out of the hug, he took her by the arm and led her down the corridor to the skylight that lit the dark shadows. Looking up, an old familiar face greeted her - one that she hadn't seen in a very, very long time.

'Winston!'

The gorilla gave a small chuckle, and smiled down at her from the cut open glass.

'Sienna. It's good to see you again, I'm glad to see you're safe. Jack worried us all when he contacted us; I've never seen him so agitated.'

The gorilla peered through the light, lowering a metal cable to them both.

'Don't be unnecessary, Winston.'

Jack Morrison wrapped his arm around her waist, hooking a clasp to the cable. A winch above them hoisted them up, and Sienna gave one last look to her prison for the past week.

 _Not so much a prison as a home. I could never admit it to those two, but I'll miss this place._  
Unable to say it out loud, Sienna was silent for a lot of the journey back. She didn't recognise the route anyway - Winston had told her they had a new base.

 

'You managed to bring Overwatch back together? Winston that's amazing!'  
Having been out of the loop since the omnic crisis, Sienna's eyes widened to find out all of the original members were at the new base, still in secret, hidden from the evil Talon organisation.

'Yes, well...' The gorilla looked mildly embarrassed at the acknowledgement, turning a slight shade of pink under his grey fur.

'When the world needs us, it's our honour-bound duty. Anyway, welcome to the new headquarters, it's not much but it's home to all of us.' Winston waved a haired arm at the re-purposed aircraft hanger that loomed above them in all its grandeur.

The outside was peeling, metal rusted and screws hanging precariously; but the inside was a technological hub, computer lights and new equipment everywhere: It was clear Winston had been busy.

Speechless, mouth agape, the soldier had to tap her lightly on the arm to check if she was okay. Stunned, she turned to him.

'Am I allowed to be here? I'm not really... I mean, is it okay? This is a secret, right?' Worried she wasn't welcome, Sienna started to back off a bit, but Jack held her by the arm to stop her.

'It's fine. You're a good person, Sienna. You'd never betray us - I've known you too long to think that... We all have.'  
Winston nodded too.

'You're one of us, you know that. Therefore-'

The gorilla stopped as a zipping sound rebounded off the walls towards them, a trail of pale blue light tailing behind. Winston continued.

'-It's time you met the rest of the team.'

Suddenly, a short brunette blinked into existence in front of Sienna, grasping her hand and shaking it rapidly up and down enthusiastically. She grinned up from under her fringe 'Hiya, love! Great to finally meet ya! Jack's told me so much about you'

A bit stunned, Sienna shook the woman's hand back, but the British pilot's smile was contagious and she couldn't help but return the grin. _What a friendly woman, might help me forget about the past week._  
'It's good to meet you too, I'm almost in shock - you're Tracer, right? You were my idol, back in the day.' Sienna admitted slightly abashed, feeling the woman take both her hands in her own.

'Your idol! I can't believe it.' She gave a giggle before tugging at Sienna's hand and hopping from foot to foot.

'This is so exciting! I want to introduce you to the test of the team, they're gonna love you, sweetheart.'

Unable to hold back her smile, she looked back to Winston and Jack to see if it was okay, finding them deep in serious conversation. Suddenly remembering her rescue, she was desperate to ask about how they found her... And whether they had anything to do with that phone message Reaper got the night before.

Not wanting to interrupt, she guessed she would find another time later, and let the adorable childish brunette lead her by the hand to a door on the other side of a hangar.

Taking a deep breath, she fell into step next to chattering Tracer and plastered the smile back on her face, banishing any distracting thoughts of the Talon member who had captured her heart.


	13. Midnight Smoke

Exhausted, Sienna flopped back onto the bed she'd been assigned in the headquarters. It was a small room, but the girl really didn't care as the soft duvet enveloped her skin.

Even after finally meeting all the members of Overwatch - people who she had idolised for half her life, in her chest there was still something missing. Everything felt off, _like a dream that I'm about to wake up from,_ her mind finished for her.   
Having no other place to stay, Jack had asked Winston to put her up in one of the many free rooms and he had happily obliged. The gorilla was somewhat the captain of the organisation now, having brought everyone back together and founding the new headquarters. Not that anybody disagreed with it - he was a very amicable fellow, and everyone loved him truly as a father of some kind, or at least the 'crazy science uncle' as Zarya had comedically suggested.

Before sleep overcame her, Sienna thought back to the events of the day. Minusing the crushing worry that had gripped her mind regarding Reaper, everyone had been very friendly. Although Hanzo had been a bit stoic, he'd greeted her very formally and hadn't shown any particular dislike to her. McCree, on the other hand, had been overly friendly, even joking about Sienna sharing his room if she didn't find hers 'to suit your taste, darlin'.  
The soldier had scolded the cowboy for it, but they'd all laughed and it had helped soothe her nerves.

'It's just as well I asked about the rescue mission in the end' Sienna murmured to herself, and it was true.

After asking Winston, he'd told her about how once they finally found where she was being held captive, they created a diversion - that Winston gleefully explained in full technical detail to her - to draw him out and keep him there while they got her out. At the mention of the diversion moment, Sienna hadn't been able to keep her cheeks from flushing as she remembered the events prior to it, prompting Winston's hand on her forehead checking for fever: 'is that the beginning of a cold I see?' and Soldier 76 practically forcing her to head to bed early: 'get to bed, you'll want some good rest'. Smiling softly, it reminded her of a family coming together.

Finally tucking herself into the bed that wasn't quite as comfy as Reaper's had been, she let the unfamiliar darkness claim her.

Moments before her consciousness left, a flicker of black smoke drifted across the balcony window, throwing a moonlit shadow across her face for a second before sweeping away into the night again.

Most of the team were already training the next morning when she got up, although a couple were still grabbing some breakfast in the lounge area. Waving a quick hello and exchanging some 'good morning's to the members who were around, she headed off to explore the base.

Winston had given her free access everywhere, telling her that there 'wasn't anything to hide, anyway'.

McCree had offered to show her around, but she had politely declined - mainly because she wanted some alone time, but also because she was slightly scared of the glare that Jack Morrison was giving both her and the gunslinger as they chatted. She shivered slightly at the memory then laughed at her involuntary reaction; her voice bubbling out in the open space.

She stuck her hands in her pockets and continued walking, finally glad to have a clean change of clothes: even if they were just training slacks. Pushing through yet another door on her exploration path, natural light suddenly replaced the artificial ones inside, causing Sienna to have to raise her arm to her eyes.

Seemingly having stumbled into a garden courtyard, she let her green eyes gaze around the open space. It was like a little safe haven from the big metal compound: not so large but still an impressive little area. Unlike the war-torn, rubble city outside, the space was purely natural and untouched.

'And by the looks of it,' Sienna spoke aloud to herself, 'nobody comes here very often'.

Beautiful flowered weeds were overgrowing everywhere, creating the occasional secret hole where a small person could probably hide in. Having spent a long time finding hiding spots and living spaces in the city after the war, the idea of these holes existing somehow comforted her.

_It's all a bit illogical, especially since I'm pretty much in the safest place I could possibly be - with the Overwatch members._

Pushing her illogicalities aside , she decided that it couldn't hurt to spend some time in the sun after a week of darkness, and settled back against the wall of the garden, looking up at the sun. At some point the brunette must have dozed off in the warmth, as she awoke later in the arms of a soldier, the rocking sensation of him walking waking her up.  
Noticing her coming to, he slowed his pace a bit but didn't put her down, tilting his head down to watch her through his blue visor.

'You fell asleep outside.'

He said it as if that was all that was needed for an explanation, and squeezed her a bit to shift her better into his arms, continuing walking as if it were the most normal thing in the world. _And with him, it might just be that. I never know what he's thinking._

'Uhm...'

The surprise of being carried broke through her haze of sleep very quickly, leaving her wide awake and very unsure of what do to next.  
Raising her hands to put one on his shoulder and one on his chest, she struggled a bit, attempting to convey her desire to be put down.

Feeling her wriggling, he stopped and looked down at her again.

'You're not wearing shoes. I don't know where they went, but I'm not putting you down until we get back.'  
Although she couldn't see his face, his gruff voice had a hint of amusement in it that she had only picked up on after knowing him for so long.  
'W-what? Where are my shoes? This isn't funny, Jack. Give them back!'

This time the older soldier genuinely chuckled, and readjusted his hold on the girl in his arms. His next response was almost too serious for Sienna to believe him, though.  
'I have no idea what you're talking about.'  
Sienna slapped his chest half playfully, half out of annoyance. But at the same time, she was deadly curious. She'd never know Jack to be the one who played games or messed around, and she was seeing a completely new side of him - _that is, if it really **is** him who is playing this prank on me._

But as it turned out, it really hadn't been Jack. He'd brought her back to her room, and then denied all involvement in her missing shoes plight. It was only until she utilised her new friend Tracer's skills to steal all of Jack's shoes that he stopped, surprised, having thought it was Tracer who had taken them to begin with.

After discerning it was none of the Overwatch team at all, Jack's soldier training sprung back into gear immediately.

'Call Winston immediately. There's a possibility we have a flaw in the security system.'

Sienna looked to Tracer, and then back to Soldier 76.  
'Honestly, there's no need to do that, I'm sure I must have just taken them off before I went to sleep. It's no but deal, I'll go search for them now-'

'Better to be safe than sorry though, right love? I'd let Jack do his job: we in Overwatch have all been through a lot and, well... It never hurts to take precautions.'  
The pilot gave a grim smile, but then as if flipping a switch she cheerfully grabbed Sienna's arm and tugged playfully.

'Don't worry about this anymore, anyway. Come play games with me and Mei! The cavalry will be here soon anyway.'

With a giggle and a wink, Lena Oxton dragged the barefoot Sienna off by her arm, leaving her looking back over her shoulder at the Soldier pacing uncertainly across the corridor. A strange feeling came over her, as if she knew what was happening but her brain couldn't understand it.

_Well, as long as no more of my things go missing I'll be fine._


	14. Disquiet of the Soul

As it turned out, Sienna wasn't so lucky. The next morning, not only had her shoes not turned up but her training jacket had also gone missing. This time however, the brunette shivered at the thought - she'd been in her room all night, so that meant whoever took it was very, very close.

'And... This suddenly got a bit too close for comfort.'

However, despite her building discomfort, Sienna couldn't bring herself to tell Winston as he questioned her at breakfast.

'I, uh... I just, well, got some food on it last night at dinner.'  
The lie came out forced, but Winston didn't seem to notice, and she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He waved a big hand nonchalantly.

'Ah, no worries. If you speak to Mei she'll show you where to get a new one, and-' the gorilla tapped his nose and grinned at her '-where to wash your old one before it starts to smell.'

  
He had begun to turn away when, suddenly, he seemed to remember something and twisted his wide chest back towards her again. 'Ah, Sienna, I forgot-'  
He scratched his head a little sheepishly, as if broaching a difficult subject.

  
'I thought that maybe since you've had some time to settle in and calm down... Maybe we could have a chat about what happened when you were kidnapped? I, uh, understand it's maybe difficult, but...'

  
Sienna couldn't help but smile softly as she watched the gorilla tiptoe around the subject, obviously not wanting to push her. He prodded his glasses back up his face.

  
'Of course, from a purely scientific view... It's just that, well, if you have any information on Reaper it could come in very handy if we come face to face, and-'

  
Sienna held up a hand to pause Winston, unable to stop herself smiling at how worried he was, his kind-hearted nature showing through clearly.

  
'It's okay Winston, I'm fine! I can meet you somewhere to talk about it if you'd like?'  
His grey face lit up immediately as if he was a baby again, being given a banana for the first time.

  
'Perfect! You can come to the office in the west wing as soon as you're ready, then? I'll go fetch the team, and get my documents ready... And probably pick up some peanut butter.'

Sienna couldn't help but smile warmly as she watched him lumber off back to his lab.

  
'He is very pure of heart, is he not?'

The robotic voice floated out of nowhere, and Sienna span on her heels. ...An omnic?  
There was a brief silence as they both regarded each other. History seemed to pass between them in the quiet space, both of them seemingly reliving personal moments from the past war.

The warm bubble in her chest from speaking to Winston turned cold. Seconds of silence passed by, infiltrated only by a slight whirring of the omnic's machinery.

Sienna forced herself to speak first, swallowing loudly, unable to hide her fear entirely as she watched the gold orbs circle his neck. _Round and round._

'Yes. Ah, h-hello. My name is Sienna - I apologise for my rudeness, it has been... A while since I last saw an omnic. I hope I haven't offended you.'

Listening to her own voice, she cringed at how overly polite and false she sounded.

Truth be told, she was scared. Although she had been an omnic sympathiser during the crisis, the death of her parents to their side had.... Well, it definitely changed me. And now, standing in front of the silent omnic as it - as he - regarded her brought it all back. A cold, creeping feeling up her spine, like an anaesthetic crawling in her blood-

'It is my pleasure, Sienna. I am Zenyatta.' He bowed his head slightly, and Sienna's body unfroze. His voice was warm and unexpectedly comforting; yet the shock on her face must have been evident as he spoke again.  
'I feel there is disquiet in your soul. It is understandable that you are scared; it is but a reflex to keep you alive.'

This time it was the omnic who paused, as if gaining inspiration.  
'There were many losses on both sides of the war, but I hope we can learn to work together in peace.'

His voice remained soft the entire time, but his words echoed through her core. Something about him quelled her fear; liberated her. 'Mondatta...'

Zenyatta suddenly tilted his head at her and raised a hand to the side of his temple. 'My apologies, what was it you said?'

Sienna looked up, unaware she had said it out aloud. Embarrassed, she started again.  
'Ah, I'm sorry. Um, well... You remind me of Mondatta. I looked up to him a lot, it was heartbreaking when... what happened to him.'

Zenyatta said nothing for a few moments, and Sienna couldn't help but worry she had said something wrong. Sweat formed in beads on the back of her neck, and she had opened her mouth to revise her sentence when he spoke up first: his voice was low and quiet... _Sad, almost._

'Thank you, Sienna. Truly. Mondatta was a close friend, and that is the highest respect you could pay to me. If you are not busy this evening, would you care to meditate with me? I sense some discord within you, perhaps it may help resolve your problems?'

'That...' Sienna swallowed her resignations, and lifted her chin.  
'That would be lovely, thank you Zenyatta.'

'Wonderful. Do you know where the courtyard is? I will be there if you wish to join me - I hope I can help in any way.'  
With a slight bow of his head that Sienna subconsciously reciprocated, the omnic left, leaving her a damp neck and a thumping in her chest.  
Shaking herself off, she took a deep breath, lifted her head up and walked.  
_You're fine, Sienna. Now, where can you find Mei?_

\------------------

One new jacket, a warm furry hug from the ever-cheery Mei, and a training offer from the Siberian bear-fighter later, Sienna laughed at the turn of events that had happened. Heading towards Winston's office, she couldn't help but feel happy. A part of her heart stilled pulled on her when she delved into her memories, but the more she got to know the heroes of Overwatch, the more she felt like a family was forming.  
_A family that I am so, so glad to be a part of._


	15. Reviving the Memory

Arriving at the office, it was Winston and McCree who were there to greet her. As it was, it turned out Jack Morrison had decided to forgo the talk.

Winston looked a bit sheepish.  
'I'm sure you know bits of the history between them, Sienna. He said he would prefer to distance himself, and skip the first-hand experience of you talking about it.'  
The gorilla hesitantly gestured a grey hand towards the cowboy sat at the other end of the table.  
'McCree offered to help me and take his place.'

Inside, the brunette heaved a heavy sigh of relief. With the old soldier's visored eyes on her, she felt she would never have been able to talk about it - the feeling of betrayal would have been too strong. She squeezed her hands together under the table, willing her heart to stay calm.

'That's a good call, Winston. It's better this way, don't worry, we can just pass the information on to Jack afterwards.'

The gorilla smiled, clearly glad to have made the right choice. Sienna kept her smile fixed on her face.

McCree, who had been merely watching over since the beginning decided to speak up and start the questioning.  
'So... It was over a week that you were there for. You must have seen quite a lot of him, right darlin'?'

Banishing the memories of 'seeing' a lot more of him than she realised she should reveal, she considered her answer for a second.  
'No, actually. Really not that much. He spent only a few hours in the apartment per day, and for the first few days... He only appeared for a few seconds. I was left on my own for the majority of the time.' Her voice didn't break, but it didn't sound wholly convincing either. _Just tell the truth, Sienna._

Winston seemed to muse over this, moving a hand to his chin, but McCree openly seemed disappointed. 'What, so he just left you to yourself the whole time? That jackass.'

Sienna coughed a little. She knew this bit would be hard, but taking a deep breath her green eyes lifted up towards them both.  
'He... He, well, kept me locked in one room, alone, for four days.' Winston's brow furrowed and McCree opened his mouth, but Sienna continued quickly before they could interrupt. 'But after that... He left the door open, and let me around the whole apartment, instead of drugging me with food to keep me sedated.'  
A quiet, dark laugh came from her without warning, and she shook her head, eyes down at the ground.

'But he didn't treat me badly. Sure, he threatened me, taunted me, terrified me, but he never- ...'  
Choking a little, Sienna struggled to regain control, and the broadening silence in the room was deafening.  
'...he only ever hurt me once.'  
The ghosting feeling of his claws around her throat squeezing - _tighter and tighter_ \- made her swallow loudly.

Winston's voice was quiet, his huge hands clenched and a pained look painted his face.

'Once is enough, Sienna.'

Still looking down at the table they sat around, she could feel both of their eyes boring into her skin, raw and tender.

McCree's voice was unexpectedly strong, but as her eyes raised she could see the emotions piercing his features as he spoke.  
'Tell us how we can hurt him.'

Something about his words struck a chord within her, and a sharp sensation in her heart made her hesitate. The tips of her fingertips tingled, reminiscent of all that long night she had spent fixing him up, sewing until she bled, covered in dark blood and tangled strips of leather. _I can't bring myself to do it. But it's Overwatch versus Talon, and only one side can win._

_'..._ He uses shadows to teleport. Before he shadow-steps, the shadows around him deepen and writhe. It also makes a sound; it's quiet, but it's there.'

Winston immediately began to take notes on paper, and the gunslinger's face lit up as he leaned forward.

Keeping it relevant and detailed, Sienna zoned out and listened to her own voice. _Her own betrayal._

By the time they had finished, Sienna was exhausted. Surprisingly, it had been McCree who noticed she was at breaking point, and suggested they call it a day. She'd detailed all of his abilities, from somehow being able to spy on her through walls to his power to knock her out cold and more.

Winston had brought up a 3D model of him and she had forced herself to look at the scientific study, pointing out all the areas she had peeled metal armour from, describing the feel and density of the leather that she had so tenderly removed on occasions and cut through on others. 

Remembering the size of the bullets that were in his shotgun chambers as he plunged the weapon into her forehead. The metal type of his claws as he playfully flicked her hands away, and the sharp piercing as they dug into her flesh.

 

_Is this what is going to haunt me for the rest of my time? Is this the effect he has?_

  
Silence settled over the office, permeated only by the soft scratching of pencil on paper and the absent chewing of an old rolled cigar.

  
_It hurts._

  
In the short break they took, Sienna couldn't help but raise a curled hand to her heart, feeling the trembling beat underneath her skin, and caught the eye of McCree unexpectedly.

There was a somewhat soft feeling around him, something between pity and a cool admiration.  
'Ya know I'm not so good at this, but thank you, Sienna. I'm sorry you had to go through all that, we should'a found you sooner.'

Determined to stay strong until the last minute, she pushed the thick locks of hair out of her face.  
'I know you all did the best that you could, and that's all I could ever have asked. I'm the one who should be saying thank you.'

Realising this was a good opportunity to leave before her emotions spilled over, she stood up.  
'I hope I've been at least just a bit useful to you all, I'm just a bit tired now  if you don't mind.'  
_Please, just let me leave. I can't take this much longer._

Still scratching furiously with his pencil, Winston finally realised something had happened and looked up a bit too quickly, knocking his glasses onto the table. Stumbling for words a bit, he pushed off his chair to stand up, returning Sienna's actions but not quite understanding the mood of the situation.

'Ah! Yes, yes- thank you Sienna, you've provided some brilliant information.' He held up the papers now, covered in scribbled notes, sketches and plans and looked between her and it proudly; pushing his glasses back up and almost hopping with excitement.

Unable to stop herself, Sienna felt the corners of her mouth twitch up at his innocent actions; her heart momentarily returning to its normal rhythm.

  
A light hand touched her shoulder from behind. Not having noticed him move, Sienna practically jumped out her her skin.

  
'Whoa there, darlin'. Didn't mean to fright'n ya. Why don't you let me walk you back to your room? It's gotten pretty late.'

  
It was true: the light filling the window has dimmed, and dusty particles filled the air - illuminated by the evening sunlight.

However, all that Sienna could think as she turned to face him, one metal hand tipping his hat and the other still resting lightly on her shoulder, was _he's changed._ No longer was there the flirty, playboy tone to his words that had been there all the first day, just a comforting, kind concern.

  
_It's not just in his voice either, it's his eyes too._

  
Finally seeing something of the real McCree, Sienna was unable to say no and as they left a comfortable quiet enveloped them both. Only the soft mechanical clicking of his robotic prosthetics and the jangling of empty gun holsters permeated their bubble, but Sienna was thankful to not have silence.

 

_I've had far too much of that recently._

  
McCree wasn't the type to make small talk, but occasionally he'd point out small things about the base as they walked - small quirks like the football that was still frozen to the ceiling where Mei and Lucio had been playing a bit too vigorously, the little scrawled pen lines marking the height of all the members on one of the white walls, and even the tiny storage door that everyone joked was designed purely for Torbjorn.

By the time they finally reached Sienna's room, McCree had managed to crack her emotional shell and let her laugh a little bit, taking her mind off the hours just spent talking about Reaper.  
As they were both about to bid each other farewell - until tomorrow at breakfast - Jack Morrison appeared from around the corner. The gunslinger immediately greeted him, and a friendly atmosphere developed quickly; warm and familial already.

  
As usual, the soldier was gruff, but by now Sienna knew him well enough to understand him properly.  
'Winston seemed very busy when I walked past his workshop - I take it you managed to give him something useful?'  
_Ahh,_ Sienna's mind sighed at his brash words, _was he always this distant?_ Ignoring her thoughts, she mustered up some cheeriness to reply.  
'Yes, he seemed to think it would all be very useable to create some new devices... Hopefully this time it can be a means to an end.'  
It still felt horrible to say such things about Reaper, but Sienna felt as though her body hadn't betrayed her true feelings - until Soldier 76 tilted his head at her slightly, clearly sensing something off.  
Just in time, McCree somehow diffused the situation by reaching out and patting the brunette on the head.  
'I'll catch ya later, darlin'. Sleep well, won'tcha? Jack, you comin' with? We've got our poker game to get to'

With a grin and a wink in Sienna's direction, he turned on his spurs and walked back towards the main base centre, whistling as he walked. Jack hesitated for a second, and a moment of panic settled in Sienna's brain that somehow he knew everything - but moments later he briefly nodded his regards at her and followed the cowboy to their game.

Watching them leave, the girl took a deep breath and turned towards her door, most definitely not looking forward to the silence that she knew welcomed her on the other side of it.


	16. Ripped Apart

As she turned the handle and pulled the door open towards her, the gust of wind that hit her straight in the face was not what had been expected.  
Stumbling backwards, curls of brown hair flew in front of her eyes and masked her view temporarily.  
_Ah shit._

The tall glass doors that ran from floor to ceiling on the other side of the room were thrown open, leaving the thin curtains billowing eerily in the darkness, illuminated in the dusky light.  
_Shit shit shit._

Wisps of brown locks curled around her cheeks, cupping them as they reddened in the cold air. Everything else was untouched. The bed laid still,  made up perfectly on the right as it had been left that morning, and the dressing table on the left stood unmoved by the interference. Seconds had passed now, and Sienna could hear the pulsing of her blood in her skull, pushing against the bone and creating a suffocating, clouded feeling around her eyes. Steeling her nerves and shutting away her intrusive thoughts, she took one slow step forward. But one step was all it took as something shifted underneath her sole, and her wide eyes darted down.  
Perfectly laid out on the floor was her training jacket, and as she removed her trembling foot the light from the hallway outside streamed in: three wide slash marks marred the the soft fabric, running from shoulder to lower back in what was obviously a quick yet deliberate motion.  
Suddenly unable to take it all in, Sienna backed out of the door and slammed it behind her, feeling her legs collapse under her just as she pushed her back against the wood, feeling the reverberations pulse through her skull. Letting her head fall back, her long hair hung limp against her quickly paling skin.

'He's _here_. He followed me.'

Her voice was barely above a whisper as the next words came out, crushed with shame, echoing off the thick marbled walls.  
'I _led_ him here.'  
Squeezing her eyes shut at the overwhelming guilt that was rising in her chest, she felt herself pushing back at the cold that threatened to pull her under, squeezing her fingers in the effort. The base was discovered. _Overwatch_ had been discovered. And it was all her fault.  
_And now he's coming back for me... For Jack._  
But just as her brain drowned her in self pity and guilt, images of a mauled soldier passing through her soul, her heart decided _enough was enough._

_Get up, Sienna. The longer you put yourself down, the weaker you become. Drown yourself in fear, and you drown your will to keep fighting._

Zenyatta's words came flooding back to her all of a sudden. Fear _... Is but a reflex to keep you alive._  
In the seconds that followed, Sienna's ragged hands pushed down on their own, pressing against the cold floor in a subconscious action. The suffocating feeling didn't subside, but something else began burning within her, setting her veins alight and torching her cold nerves.

'I.. I sure as hell am going to stay alive. Reaper can bring it on.'  
Her trembling words contained more power than all her fury and everything began to speed up, blasting through the cold, dead air.

With fire blazing in her eyes, dragging her heavy limbs off the floor, the shaken girl forced herself to walk.  
The corridors seemed to darken as she strode through them, step by step, but even though Sienna's heart swelled with anger and motivation, one look at her shaking hands reminded her there was only so much her heart could convince her mind.

It began to feel like Sienna had been walking forever, the dark corners twisting and turning endlessly, but up ahead a warm glow lit up the dark hallway and automatically Sienna's feet changed their path - drawn to it like a bull to a rag.  
But when she arrived, what greeted her wasn't the aggravating red matador's cloth, laden with swords to impale her, but instead... a peace treaty.

The yellow light that lit up the wide, marble kitchen filled her sight, and Sienna's vision clouded in the glare. A familiar clicking sound resonated in her ears, and a shadow was cast over her feet suddenly.  
Squinting in the bright light, Sienna called out.  
'McCree?' Her voice was too harsh to sound natural, but she moved on towards it.  
The clicking got closer, but she couldn't hear any footsteps - but it became clear immediately as another voice responded.  
'Actually, it is Zenyatta. My apologies - If you were looking for McCree, he is playing poker in the corridor room.'

Sienna stumbled a bit, not really sure what to say to the omnic as her vision slowly adjusted to the gold light. Blinking back tears she hadn't realised were there, she forced herself to speak, calming her voice. Something about the omnic managed to drain some of the heat in her chest, and Sienna was almost sad to feel it leave her as the emptiness within spread its grasp again.  
'Ah, I'm sorry Zenyatta.' she spoke through gritted teeth in an attempt mask her emotions.  
'I'm not really sure how I ended up here. I apologise for not seeing you earlier to meditate, the... Meeting... It went on for longer than expected.'  
Looking away from the levitating omnic, Sienna placed a shivering hand on her chest, willing her heart to slow, lest he would hear it.

Soft whirrs and clicks filled the void between them before he spoke. 'Sienna?' He asked softly, tilting his grey head at her.  
'I understand if you are too tired, but would you care to meditate with me now? You see, I do not sleep anyway, so if I can be of assistance that would be very pleasing to me.'

As if out of nowhere, suddenly on the brink of tears and at her breaking point, Sienna forced herself to look up towards the light, willing her eyes to _please, please stop._  
'I would really like that, thank you Zenyatta.' Sienna responded, wanting to be anywhere, _anywhere_ but alone inside that room. Unable to stop her voice cracking as she spoke, a single tear streamed down her cheek. Giving up on keeping them in, Sienna finally brought her head down and let herself go, walking alongside the quiet Zenyatta as her hair became damp with salty tears.  
He didn't comment on anything as they walked, and Sienna couldn't help but sneak a peak at him through a veil of thick, wet hair. _He hasn't asked anything... I'm not sure whether I'm glad or not._  
Inside, something was getting better. The cold restricting feeling was lifting slowly, slowly, but although she was no longer trembling, tears refused to stop falling down Sienna's face as if her body hadn't received a message her mind had.  
_Is this Zenyatta's effect?_  
Before she had the chance to question it any further, Sienna recognised the doorway ahead.  
'Forgive me Sienna for not asking, but I hope my room will suffice.' Zenyatta mutedly suggested, as if mildly embarrassed.  
'I had thought it best to choose somewhere more private - and that you may have agreed?'

Cheeks still damp from the tears that ran freely she couldn't look the omnic directly in the eye - but still nodded softly none the less.  
He hummed lightly as if in quiet approval... or perhaps relief. Sienna couldn't quite tell, but also didn't quite care enough to think about it. Zenyatta had somehow managed to dull the pain inside her just enough to allow for logical thinking about just how much danger she had put everybody she cared about in.

_Again._

Noticing the pained, distant look on the girl's face, Zenyatta floated over to a rug on the floor and gestured for her to take a seat, thankful that his own concern for her wouldn't be conveyed on his metal features.

Feeling a bit sceptical and too emotionally hyped up, Sienna heaved herself onto the rug and folded her legs - but as soon a she sat down, waves of tiredness hit her. Looking to Zenyatta for guidance as he floated half a meter off the ground on he right, he hummed in approval.  
After a moment of silence, eyes closed, Sienna shifted awkwardly. Her tears had finally stopped flowing, but emptiness inside her remained constant like a shadow eating at her from the inside out.  
_A very familiar, dark shadow._  
And no matter how hard she tried to think of anything else, it kept creeping back to her.

_'_ You are trying too hard, Sienna.'

Surprised, she looked up at him, not realising it had been that obvious. He hadn't moved, eyes closed, still facing straight ahead.

'How can I think of nothing? How do you do it, Zenyatta? Every time I close my eyes, it's... _he's_ there'

This time, he turned his head to face her, watching calmly.  
'In order to help yourself, you must help your mind. To try not to think of something will inevitably cause you to think of it.' Zenyatta spoke softly, the metallic tint to his voice almost a lilting song, a lullaby, in the quiet room.  
'Instead, you must think about what you want to feel. Think, feel, and become, the person in the future who does not have this problem any longer.'

And then, there was silence. The two of them, girl and robot, eyes closed to the world and their minds open to another.

Minutes drifted into hours as they sat in the quiet, until Zenyatta finally cast a knowing glance over the finally sleeping girl next to him, catching her leaning shoulders with an outstretched hand. With an ease of strength that would have surprised any, the omnic calmly lifted her onto the futon that replaced his need for a bed and returned to the window at the end of the room.  
With great pain he watched the dark, patient shadow that blocked the city lights on the horizon, and steeled himself for a long, vigilant night. It had been difficult preventing Sienna from seeing him, but Zenyatta realised the consequence of his presence.

He would not do anything tonight - the Reaper was a patient man, but the inevitability of the oncoming violence brought the omnic no great joy.

**/Author note!**  
**Hey again all of you!**  
**I'm so sorry this chapter has taken forever to come out, but I hope it hasn't put any of you off reading it. I realise some of you may be impatient for more direct reaper scenes but please bear with me because there's a great one coming up**

**(I actually can't wait to write it so it shouldn't be too long in the making)**  
**THANKS AGAIN AND SORRY AND I LOVE YOU ALL**  
**I live for comments and reviews so please, if you enjoyed this, found it confusing, hated it, or** **felt literally anything** **then I would love to know so speak to me!**

**Hugs, love and apologies,**  
**~Wren xxxx**


	17. Run, Hide, Seek

Awakening in an unfamiliar location was something Sienna had become used to over the past years, but this was disconcerting.

The room was bare, sparsely decorated and looked as if it contained just the bare minimum - _and for an omnic,_ Sienna thought, _that truly is very little. Especially an omnic monk, at that._

Last night's memories finally coming back to her, she sat up and brushed the curled, unruly locks back off her face. The futon was hard, but Sienna had clearly slept so soundly it hadn't mattered - under the supervision of Zenyatta, somehow she had felt _safe..._ Something that had managed to evade her since she had arrived. _Since everything that had happened. Especially since he's an omnic._

Noticing the empty room, Sienna swung her legs over the edge of the futon and spied a small note lying on the low table.

_Sienna,_   
_Although I cannot dispel your fears myself I did not return you to your room when you fell asleep, as I thought you may have been harbouring a discomfort around the... current situation. I felt that my company may have helped to perhaps calm you, and I hope the futon was an acceptable bed._   
_Hopefully, I will see you today at breakfast._   
_-Zenyatta_

Clutching the note tightly, Sienna couldn't help but weakly smile at the thought of the well-meaning omnic. His constant strife for peace and goodness truly made him impossible to dislike, she felt.

It took her legs a second to adjust to standing again after the rushing emotions of last night, and she brushed down her clothes as best she could - which proved to be an impossible task to remove the creases and crumples from being slept on.

Deciding it was best to head back to her own room to change before seeing everyone at breakfast, she took a few deep breaths to stabilise herself before heading out.

The corridor was cold and draughty, and Sienna shivered slightly as the cool breeze caught her skin and made her hairs stand on end. Wrapping her arms tight around herself, she sped up - lengthening her strides.

The quicker she got to her room, the quicker she could get to breakfast and see people.

Something about the solitude wasn't quite sitting right inside her, and she knew that seeing the Overwatch members would distract her from the shadows that seemed to loom and stretch in the corners, curling dark fingers towards her as if reaching out to swallow her and-

_Enough. Enough with the self torture, Sienna._

At this point, her brain couldn't quite manage to scare her as much as she had felt last night, but it still wasn't pleasant to feel it kick at her.

Recognising the final twists and turns of the corridor approaching her room, Sienna let her footsteps slow to a casual pace; calming herself.

Unless Zenyatta or Jack had visited, which was highly unlikely, nobody had been to her room since that night, and it would be as she left it.

Feeling the unease settling in her stomach, she stopped for a moment waiting for it to quell.

_It's okay Sienna. Its just a jacket. He's not here. Just change and go to breakfast._

Taking another final deep breath in through her nose, she picked up her feet and rounded the final corner to her room.

///

Immediately, it was there in her vision, holding her attention, and Sienna felt her muscles tense all at once. It was impossible not to notice.

The small white square, stuck right in the middle of the wooden door held its own, as if creating this small universe around itself and the chalk-faced girl.

Memories and emotions from last night began to play themselves on repeat in her brain, and a strange sensation of slowing time made Sienna's approaching footsteps feel like hours passing with each motion.

The small black scrawl of handwritten words were visible now, and as if by chance a cold breeze caught under the door tore the note off and blew it to the ground between her feet.

Sienna had read the note long before she leant over, but a hand snaked out anyway and reached down to pick it up, feeling the way it curled up on her open palm.

-  
 ** _Playing hide and seek, are we?_**  
-

For a while Sienna just stood, alone, eyes watching but not quite focussed on the way the breeze tipped the paper in her hand, obscuring the words.

She could hear his velvet voice rebounding around her skull as her eyes traced the lines, thickened with sarcasm and a dark, mocking humour.

_This is it. This is the end of this._

Surprising herself with her quickly rationalising brain, Sienna found herself mentally mapping the quickest route to Winston's office. Dread began to settle in her bloodstream, and her body felt heavier by the second.

_It's time I confessed. It's my fault he's here and I can't let him get away with this anymore._

_If anything happened to the people here..._

...Well, Sienna didn't know what she'd do. But keeping this secret was only going to get the people she cared about hurt.

And now she had true evidence to give to Winston.

Forcing herself to ignore the feel of the ripped fabric on the back of her jacket as she pulled it from the room, she shied away from the shadows that deepened as she moved over them.

Something about the way they shifted made her wary, but it was impossible to tell if it was just some form of paranoia setting in.  
For certain, if it was that, the feeling only worsened as she sped through the corridors, her feet echoing too loud against the concrete walls. 

The corners were dark, and brought Sienna to the centre of the corridors, illuminated in the artificial light away from the creeping dark - but as she approached Winston's office the feeling seemed to subside.

The paranoia melted away bite by bite, and Sienna watched the shadows recede with every step she took closer to her confession.

Every step closer to the wide double door - now in her sights.

///

Clutching the jacket closely to her with one hand, and placing the note in the pocket with the other, her stride slowed slightly.

_What if this is unnecessary? It was only a note. Maybe..._

The voice that had kept her company during those long solitary days reared its head again; the same ugly, self-centred survival thoughts that had kept her alive so many a time now.

_Maybe you don't need to admit to your lies._  
 _'_ Don't fool yourself, Sienna.'

_They won't forgive you_  
'But they will still be alive.'

_Where will you go when they kick you out? Don't you care about them?_  
'Back to wherever I was before. I survived then and I can survive now.'

Looking down at her feet, Sienna's blurred eyes came to - only to see them planted firmly, unmoving on the ground.

_'_ And, I do care about them.... I do. That's why I am going to do this. I have to do something.'

Just as her words left her lips, a door in her brain slammed shut, evicting the ugly voice and taping its mouth.

One foot at a time, head held high and eyes dead ahead, the corridor brightened with each step she took.

Sienna could almost see the shadows littering the corners retreating to leave soft, pale angles and the glow of the honest lights whitening everything to a soft glow.

As Sienna watched the last few metres close between her and Winston's office, she couldn't help but imagine the final slithers of shadow slide away from her, and a quiet smile slipped onto her face-

\- only to be ripped away as the darkness gripped her suddenly and dragged her out of the light into its cold embrace:  
 _A clawed, scarily familiar embrace._


	18. Scare Me

The wall hit her back hard, knocking the breath out of her instantly.

_I didn't watch the side corridor._

For a second everything span, darkness swirling in her eyes as they were forced to adjust - but it seemed the shadow didn't intend to give her any time to focus.

The jacket suddenly disappeared from her hands, and Sienna found her empty fingers reaching up to the sharp metal and cold leather gripping her arm.

As they reached their destination to lightly touch the hard fabric, the metal vice around her upper arm dug slightly deeper into her flesh. Sienna tilted her head back to lean against the wall and block it out, watching the white mask looming above her slowly come into focus.   
_You let your fears slip too far away, Sienna._

There were a few seconds of silence, but they seemed to stretch into an eternity as Sienna stared directly into the pale, carved mask, letting herself be consumed in its - _his -_ black sockets. A rush or something she didn't know coursed through her, almost making her shiver under his intense gaze.

But as she let her eyes glaze over, the towering figure moved away slightly, surveying her coolly as she cowered into the wall.

Shifting uneasily, Sienna realised she had no idea what would happen here. _Was this the same Reaper she had patched up night after night, spending hours wiping blood off skin?_

The smell of him hit her first, in waves of familiar earthen notes that made her hairs stand on end and goosebumps prickle her skin - but the unnatural feeling was only amplified as his husky voice sounded out in the darkness.

'You should have turned back when you had the chance...Don't you listen to the voices in your head, Girl?'

Through the echoing, all Sienna could hear was the pumping of her own heart rushing in her head, working the adrenaline overdose around her system. Her response came out almost immediately, as if she had no doubts about her words.

'You don't scare me'

Her back pressed against the wall, drawing comfort from its stability, and the small part of her brain not preoccupied with his cutting voice told her she sounded believable.

'Oh, I disagree.'

_But apparently, not to him._

Slowly, deliberately, Reaper loosened his grasp on her arm, and his claws left her skin aflame, burning from his touch.

He tilted his head at her reaction - a flinch - and Sienna could almost feel the half amused, half mocking expression painted under his _damn mask_.

'I can see the blood leaving your face; you can't hide it, Girl. I remember this.'

As if to emphasise his point, the shadow-wielder raised his free hand to her jaw and drew closer. To keep his face at her height, he bowed his shoulders and leaned down - so close that Sienna could hear the leather buckling and rubbing as it folded.

'Either way,' he continued, running three claws along her jawbone from ear to chin, and watching curiously as white lines lightly marked her chalky skin.

'I can't let you ruin the surprise now, can I?'

As if to explain, Reaper raised his other hand that was now gripping the torn jacket. Never once did his eyes leave her own - _or at least it certainly seemed that way._

'You tell them and, well... I'll say it won't be _you_ who feels it _first_ '

There was no mistaking the underlying threat to her friends in his words, but even with her back against the wall Sienna's eyes blazed.

She'd put up with enough of his empty intimidations to know when she could fight back, and she could tell he realised this too.

By now, his hand had moved to her throat, the smooth back of a razor claw pressingly lightly against her. Watching him, she could tell his eyes were on the tender part of her neck, watching his own claws taunt her.

It was a harsh reminder of the time he hadn't been so delicate with his hands.   
She swallowed at the painful memory, her throat moving against his claws, breathing hitching, and he suddenly withdrew as if something had struck him, looking up and away.

With two steps backwards, he reared back up to full height, and Sienna felt her eyes trail up him, taking in his enormous statue again as if it were the first time. Suddenly, he squared his broad shoulders and looked as if he were about to speak.   
  


But this time his voice was different. No jests. No threats. Just...  
Quiet.   
Sad?

'Trust me' 

His words were the final straw, and the shock of his quick change in tone only brought fire to her lips.  
Directing her emotion into her clenched fists, she pushed herself off the wall, leaning forward as Reaper moved away.

With muscles tense and eyes glaring once more at his audacity, she raised an arm and stalked forwards. How _dare_ he come here with that? With a hiss between her teeth, she took one more step-

And stopped.

Her peripheral vision had caught it, and it was unmistakeable.

Now frozen under the red laser dot trained on her heart, steady and unmoving, Sienna was paralysed. Fury still coursed through her veins, and she opened her mouth to speak curses only to be interrupted immediately.

'Ahhh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Girl.'

It was as if his lapse in mocking words had never happened: _Trust me._  
As if, the soft, quietness in his last sentence was a hopeful dream, lost to memories and replaced by the harsh reality.  
This time he was dead serious, slowing and drawing out his meanings with a crushed velvet voice.

_I take one more step and I'm dead. I get it. I should have known Widowmaker would be here - always at the right time._

Sienna couldn't help the morbid thoughts of her death occupying her brain, and reminiscing of the last time she'd seen the Widow: with her soldier 76.

'How about you just return to your friends and forget this ever happened?'

Unable to take her eyes off him, still frozen under the sniper's sights, Sienna felt herself drawn to watch his claws click together subconsciously.

_His habits haven't changed... but it seems neither has he._

Sienna thought she may have had some effect, no matter how small, on him - just **_something_** to tell her she had helped him. But as she looked now there was just an empty shell.

_Gabriel is nowhere in sight._

Just as she had thought it, it became true in every sense as the huge man seemed to melt to the ground, dissipating in a whirl of flickering shadows and a faint sound of rushing wind.

As soon as he had disappeared, the red sight on her chest vanished as well. Slowly looking back to where she had stood earlier, it took all Sienna's strength to walk out of the corridor and back into the light.  
  


///  
  


The sniper stopped immediately after they had landed, removing Reaper's hand from her shoulder and striding away. The wind from their teleportation had stirred her hair, but when she turned back to face him it was clear she was furious.

'What. Was. _That?'_ Widowmaker glared, her voice laced with a cold hostility.

Instead of answering, the man in question simply started walking, utterly ignoring it all. 

'Merveilleux*... I see plans do not apply to _you.'_

Her words aloud seemed to make the air colder, freezing by the second, but Reaper continued walking straight.

When he finally replied, his voice was calms and steady; emotionless as the Widow herself.   
'I have the jacket...and the note. The mission was a success.'

'You waste my time, _Homme Mort._ I told you the girl was a mistake.'

Widowmaker had caught up to Reaper now, her long strides making short work of the distance.

'I will kill her myself next time. I like to keep my skills sharp.'

The French tang of her accent masked the morbidity of her words, but the way Reaper's breathing shallowed showed he hadn't missed it.

'Don't touch her. Just stay out of my way.' His voice kept his characteristic, low growl, revealing nothing - but at the same time everything.

With one hand now on her hip and a single eyebrow raised in disbelief, the shade thrown over the Reaper was almost overwhelming. He seemed to realise it too as he stopped, and heard her low whistle echoing off the walls around them.

'She is twisting you. _Ça pique, n'est ce pas_?** Oui, It stings to realise you want her... alive.'

The blue femme fatale watched Reaper bristle angrily from behind, but he didn't turn around.

'Watch your back, Widow. You'll get caught in your own web.'

Her response was a shallow laugh, and it was clear that was all he would say on the topic.   
Reaper knew the plan and that was what mattered. Finally, a tolerant silence enclosed them both.

 

**-////**   
**Widowmaker's French**   
***Merveilleux = marvellous**   
****Ça pique, n'est ce pas? = It stings, doesn't it?**

**Author's note! I just wanted to say thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and quotes, it's so, so motivating to see people actually enjoy reading my story!**   
**If anyone has any questions or something isn't clear in the story then please let me know - I'd love to be able to fix bits and clarify parts more if that's something you guys want (: xx**

**Love, as always,**   
**Wren~ xxx**

**(this is cross-posted on wattpad and fanfiction too, so if you wanted to see any other reviews then please find me there too!) (:**


	19. Little Bird

/ _recap: after being rescued by Soldier 76 from where she was kept captive by Reaper, Sienna is brought to the new secret Overwatch base where she is told they are safe - but somehow she finds herself being tormented by him day after day, as he hints that he has followed her there. Wracked with guilt at having exposed all of the Overwatch members, Sienna goes to tell Winston, only to be stopped by none other than Reaper himself - his appearance finally proving to Sienna that she truly did betray them all: Overwatch, her friends, and even her own heart./_  
  


What was she supposed to do now?

Sienna stood on the opposite side of the hallway, keeping eyes on both the dark corridor and Winston's office door with a guarded watch.

Reaper had straight up confronted her; pulled her into that corridor and told her exactly what would happen if she told Winston that he was here like she had been heading to do so.

Confused and scared, torn between continuing on to Winston's office or turning back now, Sienna knew it wasn't a light decision.

To tell Winston that she'd led Reaper and Widowmaker here, and show to all of Overwatch how she had betrayed them... or to turn back now and figure out another way to to solve this.

It was the same decision she had made up her mind on before Reaper had... pulled her off that track.

But now the ball was in a different park: a place with very different stakes at risk.

_Do I risk telling him? Telling Winston everything?_

Reaper's voice echoed through her mind; the way he had threatened them all if she revealed their presence.   
'It won't be you who feels it first.'

The thought of watching her new friends die _because of her_ was too much. It crept over her body and repulsed her so much she took a subconscious step backwards, away from the door. There was no choice to be made.

_It's out of the question._

Even if telling Winston allowed them all a head start to prepare for battle, Reaper and Widowmaker already had access to the compound - and everywhere within it, it seemed.

_It wouldn't work. They'd all be picked off one by one... and never even see it coming. Silenced before they even heard the news._

Sienna's head jerked back uncomfortably at the thought, pushing locks of curled hair around her cheeks, tickling her flushed skin.

But along with one uncomfortable thought came another more realistic one. If the two Talon members could easily do all that... they why had they not already?

_What's stopping him finishing what he came for in the beginning?_

'And more importantly,' Sienna muttered to herself, 'Why haven't they brought the rest of Talon along with them?'

The question sat, unanswered in her head as she turned, resolute, to walk back to everyone else.

_If I tell Winston, everybody gets killed. No, there must be another way to solve this. Another solution._

With each footstep, nothing changed. With every thought, Sienna couldn't comprehend why they weren't all dead already.

A niggling feeling reminded her of the way Reaper had looked at her on that last night in his apartment; and how _human_ he had appeared.   
Compassion?  
Was that it?

'No.' Sienna murmured, her brows knitting together in frustration. 'There's got to be another reason.'

Suddenly refocusing on her surroundings, Sienna could see she was, already, nearly at the common room. The sounds of casual chatter bubbled through the open doorway, and she could smell the sizzle of cooked breakfast bacon.   
It should have smelled good - bacon was, after all, her favourite treat. But instead of making her mouth water, Sienna's stomach churned at the thought.

_Standing out here all day isn't going to solve anything, Sienna. Calm down, you'll think of something._

With her nerves still buzzing, she lifted her head high and plastered a neutral look on her paled face; casually making her way into the kitchen-common room.  
Immediately, the flash of Zarya's hot pink hair as she turned around with a fresh plate of the offending bacon caught Sienna's eye.  
Despite herself, she couldn't help but smile. The huge Russian woman grinned wildly at her, putting down her plate to take heavy steps in her direction; pulling her into a bear-crushing hug.

A wave of security suddenly came over Sienna, and Zarya leaned out, putting her hands on either side of Sienna's arms in a friendly gesture.

'You must be Sienna, yes? I have heard much about you! It is good to have a local on the team.'

Slightly awestruck at the immense lady in front of her, Sienna could feel the blush of pride spreading up her neck, and the cold wave of fear withering away.

'It is an honour to meet you, I hope I can do some good here..' Sienna stammered slightly on the last word, realising how her actions so far had been practically the opposite of 'good'. Figuring it would be better to banish it from mind for now, she continued.

'I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself before now, I don't think I saw you around the base at all.'  
Embarrassed at her own lack of manners, Sienna's hand crept to the back of her neck sheepishly.

Zarya only laughed in response, and clapped Sienna on the back with a hand.  
'Of course not. I've been home in beautiful Mother Russia on a solo mission -' she tapped her nose knowingly and winked. '- top secret. They needed my strength back.'

_A solo mission? I didn't know the Overwatch team could do that._

'Ah, well it _is_ legendary, after all' she responded, the laugh in her voice not betraying how she was being completely honest.

_... Wait, a solo mission?_

'You heard those stories too? _Spasibo_ , it has been a while since I told them.... And it was as good as the legends say they were.' Zarya's face lit up at the compliment, but she paused for a minute and looked at Sienna again.

 'But what about you? You're like a little bird, where's your muscle? Come train with me and I promise you strength!'

 

A thought suddenly hit Sienna in a wave and she couldn't visualise the thought quick enough, mumbling under her own breath to get it out.

'Overwatch aren't the only ones who can do things outside the direction of their organisation. They're working _alone._ '

Understandably puzzled, the pink haired weightlifter opened her mouth to question Sienna when she was interrupted before the words could even leave her mouth.

'Actually Zarya, can I take you up on that offer? I want... I _need_ to be able to fight. Will you help train me, if it's not too much to ask?'

Immediately, it was obvious that it definitely wasn't too much to ask as Zarya's eyes lit up with enthusiasm, clearly having been waiting for her to ask.

'It would be my pleasure, Little Bird' beamed Zarya, just as Solider 76 appeared through the doorway to the kitchen.

'Jack! What do you think of my new student? She'll be fighting Siberian bears in no time, I think!'

Putting her free arm around Sienna's shoulders, she watched the soldier as he stopped in his tracks.

His response was in his standard gruff tone, but there was a hint of surprise hidden there. 'You're training her? I think that's a great idea - just don't break her, Zarya. It took a long time to get her here, and I wouldn't be very happy.'

Picking up a cup of coffee off the tabletop, he turned around and headed straight back towards the doorway he came from.

Still distracted by her earlier revelation, Sienna only just managed to make a retort before he disappeared again.

'Jack, I'm not that fragile' she quipped as he walked away, but the soldier only raised a hand to them in a goodbye, wearing a humoured smile on his face that she just _knew_ was under his visor.

Feeling Zarya take her arm off her shoulder, she looked up at the woman just in time to feel the Russian's hand slap her on the back in a way that was probably supposed to be friendly, but her body fervently denied.

'We even have Jack's blessing! We will make him proud.'

Stretching slightly before gathering her plates, Zarya left Sienna's side, turning back to speak over her shoulder. 'We start today, Little Bird, so have a good breakfast. I will see you in the kit room in 20 minutes. Don't be late!'

With a final smile, Zarya disappeared, leaving Sienna's head rushing at the recent developments.

_Reaper and Widowmaker aren't here with Talon, they're working alone... And for all I know, Talon knows nothing about it._

'But I know about it... And maybe, with Zarya's help, I can fix this problem before it even develops.'

It was a long shot, but Sienna tensed her body up, determined to learn how to fight back.

Head up, shoulders back, fierce eyes.

'I refuse to be the helpless girl any more.'

 

 

\------//

**Author's note**

**I AM A TERRIBLE, LAZY HUMAN BEING**

**I don't want forgiveness, but I wanna say I'm so so _so_ sorry for not updating since before christmas. I had a bit of writers block before xmas, and then I took a break anyway over the holiday to focus on family and loved ones (that isn't to say you guys who always comment aren't loved ones - I love you all so much tbh  <3)**

**I PROMISE, AS AN APOLOGY, IM GONNA BE SUPER SPEEDY WITH THE UPLOADS OF THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS which will probably get me back into the swing of things, and then ill upload more anyway.**

***insert Mei's 'sorry sorry sorry' voice line here***

**\- Wren xx**

 

 


	20. Fighting Spirit

The next week went by so quickly, Sienna could hardly comprehend the time that had passed in her brain: her first session with Zarya had been so intense that she didn't think it could have been any harsher.

Flopping back onto her bed, damp with sweat and aching all over, Sienna's hair splayed out wildly underneath her. Thinking back on that first day, the memory was blissful in comparison to the state of her body currently.

'I couldn't have been more wrong about that' she observed, definitely feeling that today... Today had, by far, been the most difficult.

_But, I guess that's how I feel everyday now._ The voice in Sienna's head echoed around, mixing with her memories of the past week.

 

_/_

 

Clearly eager to have a student to train, Zarya already had a set plan ready for Sienna when she arrived at the kit room; wide eyed and nervous, but filled with the fire of determination.

The Russian had chucked a bag to her, containing some slacks, a sweatshirt and a pair of training shoes that she was promptly to change into. Figuring her new mentor had some sort of plan, she didn't question it and soon was dressed like she was about to run a marathon, or something.

... Which, coincidentally, Sienna found out she was.

'Follow the yellow markers through the forest. It's a 5 mile circuit, so I'll give you the target of 35 minutes. Your goal is to beat that.'

'What?! Wait, Zarya, thats-'

Spluttering in shock, Sienna could barely get her words out - but they weren't much use anyway as Zarya took off at a fast jog, leaving her speechless outside the training arena. With no other option, Sienna pushed into a run after her - determined to beat this first task even if she did feel _horribly, horribly under-prepared._

But as she rounded the final corner, drenched in hard-worked sweat and struggling with every breath, Sienna could tell immediately that she hadn't done enough. There stood Zarya, 100 meters away, leaning casually against the pale metal wall of the training arena; calm as anything and breathing as if she hadn't just run 5 miles in... whatever impossibly short time she had done it in. As Sienna neared closer, wobbling on strained legs, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees in exhaustion.

'42 minutes, Little Bird. You can do better than that.' Zarya's voice was warm and motivating, and she picked up a bottle of water to throw to Sienna. 'You've got 10 minutes rest. Then, you do it again and beat your time.'

Too physically exhausted to say anything in response, Sienna just nodded in defeat and poured the rest of the water down her throat, willing her heart to stop sounding so loud in her head.

Finally managing to get her breathing under control, Sienna lifted her head up to look at Zarya, finally realising just how she had managed to become the incredible woman she was today. 

Really, _really_ hard work.

_But_ , thought Sienna with a groan, _that doesn't stop her being an impossibly hard task-master._

 

_/_

 

Still lying on her bed, Sienna smiled at her progress. Today, she'd finally smashed that 35 minute run time - with 32 minutes. _Hell, even Zarya was surprised this morning... She looked so proud._

It wasn't just Zarya who was proud though, and Sienna couldn't help the grin that flushed her face and made her laugh out loud into the empty air. After that first day, she had originally thought that every day post that would be torture... And thinking back now, Sienna's muscles twinged with the fresh memories of endless pull ups, push ups, sit ups and lap runs that she'd had to endure. In a minuscule sense, she guessed it was a tiny bit true.

The training and endurance she had been put through this week was enough to run even the fittest person into the ground with exhaustion. But not Sienna. She had no time for exhaustion, not with the weight of Reaper's threats crushing her, scaring her... _Motivating_ her.

_Besides_ , she reminisced fondly, pulling herself up onto her elbows and pushing away the dark thoughts,  _it wasn't all that bad. Zarya is a strict mentor but a kind woman, after all._

Sienna had already known it, but to prove it the Russian had called together all the members of Overwatch to dine together for once, in a celebration of Sienna becoming one of them. 

Sienna's eyes welled up at the sentiment when _every single_ member turned up. 

Not having met all of the team before that night, by the end of their dinner Sienna was only all the more determined to train even harder - she had to save them.

The dinner had another unexpected perk too though, as the new trainee found out.

Popping up out of thin air at the beginning of the evening, Tracer had sat next to Sienna. 'Hey, love! How was today's training? Zarya's very heavy with her exercise drills, right? I took her up on her 'personal training' offer once. Never again!' laughed Tracer, carefree and as cheerful as ever, and Sienna couldn't help but catch her contagious enthusiasm.

'Aha, I don't think 'heavy' is really harsh enough for Zarya's methods. Although, I'm extremely grateful to her, and couldn't ask for a more motivating mentor' admitted Sienna, bashful now.

'Aw, love, I'll let her know. She'll be over the moon!' Tracer leant back against her chair, arms folded behind her head and looked up. 'I have another idea though. Why don't you do some training with me too? Zarya's got a lot of endurance but maybe I can help ya with some other stuff?'

Momentarily shocked silent, Sienna scrambled for her words.

'Oh, if you're sure I would love that, Tracer! I have no idea if I get any breaks in my schedule with Zarya, but I'd be very thankful.' 

Looking at the young brit, she was overcome with emotion by the generosity of all the people she was meeting so much that she almost hugged the woman sat next to her.

Before she could, another voice floated above her head. 'That is very kind of you, Tracer. You got here before me. I was thinking of offering the same to you myself, Sienna.'

Hearing the cool, collected words from behind her, she immediately leapt off her chair to face the cyborg, thrusting her hand at his welcoming one and shaking it far too vigorously.

_Oh god, what am I doing._

'Greetings - I am Genji, it is a pleasure to meet you finally.' He spoke with a lighthearted laugh in his voice, clearly finding good humour in Sienna's actions, and she blushed furiously.

'No, the pleasure is mine... Sorry.' Releasing Genji's hand, she could feel her face burning with embarrassment until Tracer put one hand on her shoulder, releasing all her tension in one burst. A smile lit up her face again. _You idiot, Sienna. He's introducing himself, be normal!_

'In any case,' the cyborg continued 'you are very welcome to join me to train in the evenings. Perhaps I may help with your agility?'

Still kind of in shock, and seeing both Tracer and Genji looking at her expectantly, Sienna couldn't help but feel a bubble of warmth envelop her heart at their selflessness.

Linking her hands together, Sienna looked away from their gaze. 'I... I don't know what to say. Thank you both so much, I don't know what I can do to repay you.'

'Oh, silly.' Tracer chimed in. 'You don't need to do anything of the sort!' Squeezing Sienna's shoulder with one hand, she gave her a heartfelt smile.

'You're one of us, you do not owe us anything. We would be glad to help' added Genji, and Sienna swore she wouldn't cry.

 

/

 

Still lying motionless on her bed, letting her aching muscles repair themselves fibre by fibre, the warm feeling in her chest slowly began to disappear as she let herself fall out of the memories. To be true to them both, Sienna had visited both Tracer and Genji multiple times that week - and had definitely learned a lot.

Tracer had explained that stealth was a very important thing to learn, especially if Sienna was ever to undertake any reconnaissance missions - but her way of teaching was certainly fun.

At first, Sienna had laughed when Tracer had said they would play hide and seek, but soon learned the meaning of true fear as the tiny woman nearly toppled her out of a tree after whispering 'boo' in her ear from a mere few millimeters away.

 She'd gotten much better at choosing her hiding spots after that.

 

Genji's training had been a great change of pace from Zarya's, she had to admit. She would join him to meditate before they started their exercises - of which were mainly based around physical agility, and the ability to move from one place to another effectively and efficiently. 

'The pre-training meditation was great too - but then again, what else should I have expected of a student of Zenyatta's?' she pondered out aloud, letting the words swell in the silence of her room.

But there was something still not right. Despite the innate sense of satisfaction at her physical training progress, it felt wrong.

'I can lift more than I would have thought possible, run further than I ever have before, scale near vertical walls for better placement, and hide myself so well that even Tracer herself can't find me...' Sienna paused, feeling like she should be more happy with herself. Instead, there was just _disappointment_.

'... But it's all been just, well, fitness.'

 Sitting up suddenly, Sienna had known it from the start. 'There's no combat. I can't _fight.'_

Throwing her legs over the side of her bed, she put her head in her hands. _I got distracted. I forgot my goal. I was so overwhelmed with how lucky I was to have some training at all, that I didn't stop to think about what it would achieve._

_'_ It's not enough, Sienna.'

Somehow, saying it out loud made her heart sink, as if she hadn't truly realised it before hearing the words themselves. In all honesty, Sienna finally thought about how lucky she was for Reaper to have stayed away for the entire week - it was almost uncharacteristic of him.

'Unless I'm planning to run away from Reaper and Widowmaker next time I see them, endurance and stealth alone isn't good enough anymore.'

Another day was disappearing over the horizon, and she could feel her time running out - second by second.


	21. Finishing the Marathon

When the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window woke Sienna up the next morning, the uncomfortable feeling in her chest was still there.

_Disappointment._

And, as if that feeling wasn't enough, it was soon accompanied by a heavy dread, that pulled Sienna back under the covers like a dead weight.

It had been an entire week since she had started training, and she had seen head nor tail of Reaper. That in itself was another thing to think about, the villain himself.  
The big problem in all of this mess.

Wrapped up warm in her duvet, sunk into her mattress, Sienna couldn't bring herself to move for a few seconds, just wallowing in the warmth and secure comfort as if she had no cares in the world.  
_But, as part of Overwatch, I really do have all the world's problems now... on top of all my own._  
Worrying inwardly, Sienna thought again.  
_But I guess those problems are one and the same._

///

Zarya was waiting as usual when Sienna arrived at the training grounds, gearing up for their normal run. They had a pretty standard routine now, and she could hear herself distantly replying to something her mentor had asked.  
As they did their stretches together, Sienna's mind wandered away from her and Zarya's conversation, thinking about how to broach the subject of some... well, _weapons training._

Suddenly feeling a pair of eyes on her, Sienna zoned back into the present moment to hear silence. Zarya was looking at her expectantly, with a bemused look on her face.

'So' the Russian woman spoke, 'what do you think?'

Drawing a complete blank, with no idea what the question was, Sienna took a guessing punt, frantically searching her brain for an answer.  
'Um. Yes. I...think that's a good idea...?'

Mildly scared by the huge weightlifter, she swallowed loudly, shifting uncomfortably on her feet - but Zarya just laughed.

'Oh, Little Bird. You do make me laugh. What are you thinking about to make you so distracted?'

Suddenly thrown into the deep end of her problems, Sienna didn't know what to say.  
'Oh, it's uh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it! I should really learn to focus better'  
Putting on an obviously fake smile, the brunette inwardly cursed herself for not using the moment to talk to Zarya about it...

But the Overwatch member was having none of it.

'Hey now, you know you can talk to me right?'

With a few steps, Zarya was by Sienna's side, her huge hand dusting over her shoulder. Looking directly at her, she could see the worry in Zarya's clear eyes, reflecting back her own fears.

'I know I can seem scary, but I want the best for my student - my Little Bird.'

Not having seen this warm, overly caring side of Zarya before, Sienna couldn't help but be reminded of her past... her late mother. Something about the way Zarya spoke, honest and caring. A burst of confidence shot through her veins like a spark, banishing the memory.

'Zarya...' Sienna took a deep breath, trying to hold in her confidence. 'I feel like your training has helped me improve so much...'  
Not sure how to phrase it, she spoke slowly. Turning to face her mentor directly, there was no backing out now.

'But, I want to learn how to fight. I can't... I'm not going to be able to keep anybody safe if all I have is the stamina and technique to run away from somebody.'

Half expecting Zarya to be angry at her ungratefulness, she peered up at the woman from under her hair.

Instead, the pink Russian bundle of muscle just sighed, but the bittersweet smile said it all.  
'I knew this day would come, where my Little Bird would fly the nest.'

But rather than anger, Zarya pinched Sienna's cheek fondly, squeezing slightly like all her too-familiar aunts used to do until they both laughed.

'But' Zarya spoke again, unfinished with her words. 'I didn't think it would be so soon. A week! I'll admit, you learn fast! And, although you are not perfect yet, there is not much more I can teach you. The rest is practice. Many, many years of practice.'

Zarya paused, looking deeply into Sienna's eyes in thought.  
'I can not teach you how to use weapons. Unless you're looking to use my gravity gun, I am sorry I will be no help, Little Bird.'

Zarya herself looked sad, but it was nothing compared to the horrendous sinking feeling in Sienna's heart.

'But' Zarya continued, with a sly look in her eyes, 'I'm not the only member of Overwatch here. I was planning to send you back to Soldier 76, Jack, when you had completed your training with me...'

Sienna's mentor paused, pushing a hand roughly through her short hair in a semi-embarrassed motion; something that Sienna had not seen before.

'But I guess I enjoyed your company enough that I didn't think about what was best for you.'

Not knowing how to respond to such heartfelt words from someone she admired so much, Sienna's eyes nearly welled up.

'Come. Join me on one last run, Little Bird. You must take some time to decide your weapons specialties, after all. Every member of Overwatch has their own skills and technique. Soon, you will too.'

Before Sienna could even comprehend a response, Zarya had taken off on the running path...

just like the first day of their training all over again - she thought, tensing her muscles and sprinting after her. Maybe there was some hope, after all.

//

With the sound of feet pounding the ground, and lungs struggling for air, Sienna and Zarya exploded through the last part of the forest. Sienna's face contorted as Zarya reached the end point a good few metres ahead of her, kicking up dust in front of her eyes in an accidental taunt.

Finally, with both of them grinning widely, sweat dripping and no hard feelings, Sienna took a well earned lie-down on the hard ground. Surprisingly this time, Zarya sat next to her; the woman rarely took breaks, and she didn't even look out of breath. If it weren't for the sweat covering her, Sienna wouldn't have guessed she'd exercised at all, let alone run 10km.

Sitting up, Sienna plucked up the courage to ask something that had been worrying her. 'Zarya... May I still come on runs with you? Even if I'm training with Jack?'

All the worry that Sienna had been sitting on was wiped away with one grin from Zarya and a hearty laugh.

'Of course you can, Little Bird! Besides, you're not good enough until you can beat me, so you had better keep coming!'

The Russian stood up, and Sienna took the notion to do the same.

'I'll miss you, Zarya.'

Sienna's face was suddenly being crushed into her mentor's chest, with a pair of knuckles rubbing against the top of her head, and she couldn't help but laugh along with Zarya.

'Don't be silly, Little Bird. I'm not going anywhere.'

Pulling out of the hug, Zarya took the opportunity to wrap her hand around Sienna's bicep, and there was a flash of surprise across her features.

'Jack had better look out, it seems as if Little Bird has become Little Bear, now' she said with a wink and patting Sienna's head before turning her back.

As if this wasn't their last session, Sienna watched as Zarya left to go her own way as was usual, with a melancholy feeling in her heart.

 

Sienna stood in the same dusty spot until Zarya was far from sight, until a surprise memory of Widowmaker's laser sight on her chest forced Sienna to steel her emotions and snap out of her haze.

'Next... weapons.'  
_And I'm not going to wait until I can hunt him down and stop him myself._


	22. The Smell of Steel

Aching slightly from pushing herself so hard that morning, Sienna didn't even wait a day before seeking Jack out. 

_He didn't even seem surprised, either_  
Sienna mused as she thought back to their conversation.

As it went, he didn't give her any explanation to that, just told her in his usual gruff manner to meet him after dinner, and prepare for a long night.

Turning up in her training slacks, Sienna was back at the indoor Hall - the one she'd used in her drills with Genji and Tracer. It has been very versatile in its structure back then, so as Sienna walked she couldn't help but wonder:  
 _What has Jack got in store for me?_

Genji's work had involved pulling out the climbing walls in the side structures, while Tracer had brought in a lot of the props found in the warehouse to the side - so naturally, Sienna had been expecting something similar from the infamous Soldier 76.

But as she placed her hands on the heavy steel doors, and felt the gust on her face as it slowly opened, Sienna inhaled sharply. The cold, tangy smell of steel hit her immediately, and goosebumps raised her skin.

At a mere glance, it looked almost like one of Sienna's old school fairs, with long tables lined up side by side, filling half the room. The only difference?

As far as her stunned eyes could see, each table was covered in scores of weapons,   
'More than I've ever seen, and more than I could ever name too...' she breathed out, slightly shaky.   
The sight of so many weapons suddenly brought the reality with it, and Sienna took a step back, bumping into something hard.

Jumping out of her skin, Sienna spun around and stumbled over her feet in her haste, feeling a familiar hand grab her arm and hold her up.

'I hope, for my own sake as well as yours, that you're not this jumpy when you're handling the weapons'   
Dressed in his usual uniform, Soldier 76 dropped her arm and look down at her semi-sternly.

Internally face Palling, Sienna flushed red.  
'Oh! Jack. I'm sorry, you surprised me.' Tumbling over her words, she continued struggling through her embarrassment.

'I could tell. Well, are you going to go in? There are a lot of weapons in there, and I don't have all day for you to waste, now.'

Composing herself and reprimanding her childish reactions Sienna turned back around and walked into the grand Hall room, slightly confused by Soldier 76's gruffer-than-usual demeanor.

Completely unsure of what to pick up first, she turned back to face her new mentor, sweeping her hair out of her eyes.   
'So' she started, attempting to get him to explain before she embarrassed herself, 'should I just...?'

Having left her question open, Sienna was disappointed at the simple, sweeping arm gesture that Jack provided silently, with the clear message of ' _I want to see how you deal with this on your own'._

Mildly annoyed, Sienna turned around in a huff, and swept her dark eyes over each of the tables. Closest to her on the left seemed to be a huge range of guns, starting with long distance sniper rifles, and followed by progressively shorter distance weapons.  
From assault rifles to submachine guns to pistols, Sienna couldn't help but be reminded of unpleasant memories. Recalling her childhood teacher's disappointment at her appalling aim, Sienna's face crumpled slightly at the embarrassing memory.

Despite the soft voice in her head telling her that ' _practise makes perfect, Sienna',_ the brunette turned to the right instead, examining the range of melee weapons.

'Physical strength was always my strong point, so perhaps these might suit me better?'

It was meant to come out as a note to herself - a quiet mumble under her breath - but an affirmative noise from Jack confirmed that she was going in the right direction.

Still standing by the door, he watched her intently as she moved closer to the hand-to-hand combat weaponry.

'Choose what you think will suit your type better. Don't just go for what you think looks 'cool' - or whatever you young-un's call it these days.'

Sienna would have laughed at his old fashioned words, but the vicious glimmer of cold steel under the artificial light stamped out any humour in the air. 

Still moving down the tables, a particularly merciless weapon caught her eye. She paused, and the absence of bloodlust in her heart made her feel empty as she cast her gaze over the arsenal in front of her.  
Trailing her fingers lightly over the spiked metal mace, the sharp tip caught the edge of her finger and she inhaled quickly, watching a drop of blood form at the wound.

'Pick them up, Sienna. You won't know what you have a feel for unless you try them for yourself. I have a range set up outside.'

With her eyes still fixed on the crimson blood on her finger, Sienna twisted to face Jack slightly.   
'I think I'll keep looking for something else, actually.'

Finally dragging herself away from the mace, now dusted with a drop of her blood, she allowed her feet to pull her to the next tables.

Glancing over most of the items, a particular table caught her eye: the curved blade of a scimitar, the kingly weight of a broadsword, surrounded by katanas and rapiers alike.

At first, all Sienna could think was how _old fashioned_ the weapons were, especially when faced with the likes of sniper rifles

'The saying: 'don't bring a knife to a gunfight comes to mind', right?' Sienna exclaimed with almost morbid humour, looking over her shoulder to see the stern soldier.

At her comment, he uncrossed his arms and strode over; heavy boots echoing around the hall -

'Actually, I think one of these would do you well.'

Lifting one by the handle, he twisted it a few times before handing it to her, approval very clear in his demeanor.

'Fights are not all about glory hunting and gunning down your enemies as soon as you see them.'

The soldier paused for a moment as if trying to figure out a way to phrase something.

'I saw your training with Genji and Tracer. You're very adept at the agility side of things.'  
He stopped to glare at Sienna in disapproval and her face lit up at the rare compliment. He continued, undeterred.

'And as you've trained with Zarya, I've no doubt your stamina has increased at least a bit.'

Sienna listened intently, grinning as the soldier seemed to stifle a laugh at his last statement, knowing full well how intense her training was.

'What I'm saying... is that Overwatch could really use someone to get behind enemy lines undetected. It's a dangerous role, and one that could lead you into some life threatening situations.'

Jack hesitated slightly, and for a tiny moment Sienna could see his concerned, warm heart peering through his tough exterior.

He coughed slightly, breaking the momentary silence again. 'If things go wrong, hand-to-hand combat is your only way out. But Sienna, know this: I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think you were capable.'

'Either way, you have every right to decide for yourself. Choose three weapons, and meet me outside when you do.'

Before Sienna could comprehend his words, he'd turned and gone. The door slammed shut, and once again the smell of steel forced its way to her brain, leaving her alone in the deadly room.

_'_ Now, time to test them out'

_Gulp._


	23. How to Save a Life

Laid on the grass in front of her were three weapons. Or rather, four weapons, gleaming in the moonlight.

'Sienna. What is this?'

Instead of suggesting an explanation, he just leaned back on his haunches and looked at her through his visor, emotionally deadpanning.

Embarrassed but sticking to her literal guns, she spoke up, digging her shoes into the soil.  
'So, they came in sets. The pistol is... Well, a pistol. I thought it would be good to have a gun just as a last resort.'

Remembering how she told the soldier about her terrible aim, she added

'I'm sure I can practice enough with it... and it's light enough to carry along with these...'

Vaguely gesturing to the piles of pure steel next to the gun, she kept peering up at the soldier from under brown waves of hair, attempting to judge his reaction. Gauging it impossible due to his visor, she continued anyway.

'Dual blades. I tried out the single, larger ones, but I felt... Too open. Too vulnerable to side attacks. These seemed to provide an alternative, and the curved blades fit nicely. They're lighter, but it's a trade-off for agility.'

Still peering up at the silent Jack Morrison, Sienna continued, getting more nervous by the second.

'And then I chose a crossbow. I thought about what you were saying... Going undetected requires stealth, and this is silent. I tried it out too, and I'm a much better aim than with the pistol...'

Trailing off, Sienna could feel her face heating up.  
_Why is he still silent? Why isn't he saying anything? Have I picked wrong?_

Her own insecurities began to make her angry, but instead of succumbing to embarrassment and fear Sienna lifted her head high and looked Jack dead in the eyes, determined to prove herself and her choices.  
  
  
  
  
  


He seemed to watch her for a moment, drawing out her gaze and making her wait in the cold night.

'... Get rid of the gun.'  
Using his boot, the soldier shunted it a meter away from the other weapons, and walked casually towards the next pile as if he hadn't just halved her firepower.

'You said it yourself, agility is important, and an unnecessary weapon will weigh you down.'

Holding her breath, Sienna waited for his completed judgement as he walked to look over the knives and the crossbow.

'These... are good. Dual blades are difficult to learn, but you're right that they leave you less open. The crossbow is an interesting pick... But I think you'll surprise me with it'  Finally looking up, he crossed his arms again and tilted his head slightly.

'Well done, Sienna. Welcome to Overwatch'

Letting go of her breath, Sienna managed a tiny 'thank you' with the remaining air in her lungs, feeling some tension flood out of her muscles, only to be replaced by the weight of worldly responsibility.

Shivers ran down her spine at his words. _Oh god. I'm really a part of them now. I'm really doing this. Mother would be so proud of me... And I won't let her down. I won't let any of Overwatch down. Not again._

Suddenly, there was a moment where Sienna could see a tint of pride in the soldier's eyes, disguised but not hidden by his visor, and some of the weight dissipated.  
_If Jack Morrison himself believes in me, then I can definitely believe in myself._  
  
  


_//_  
  
  
  
  
  


'Now,' continued the soldier, as if Sienna's life hadn't just been changed irreversibly with a few words, 'now you train. From today onwards, you will arrive at this gym at 6am, and join me in my daily hand-to-hand combat training for 2 hours before breakfast. Lateness is not excused, do you hear me? We restart training at 10am. Tomorrow we will begin with crossbow basics, so I will see you here before we start.'

Gulping at what Sienna knew was going to be an intense training regime, she could only nod in response.  
_It will be worth it, Sienna. When you can take down Reaper yourself, and be able to help the real Overwatch team... You'll remember these days fondly._

'That's enough for today. It's late, and you should get some sleep. We have a early start tomorrow.'

Snapping back to the current moment, Sienna lifted her head to see Soldier 76 walking towards the doors, before he paused to ruffle her hair.

'Well done, kid. I knew I'd see you again some day. I...' The soldier hesitated, turning his head away but keeping his hand softly on her hair.

'It was my fault what happened to you. I should never have let you out of my sight'

Not giving her a chance to respond, he slid away, disappearing quickly back into the training hall, leaving Sienna silenced and stunned in the cool night.

The wind rustled through the trees, biting at her skin and pulling at her clothes, but Sienna felt none of it's coldness. Bathed in the white glow of the moon, Sienna felt nothing but overwhelming sadness, with its sharp, bitter taste that licked at her very soul.

An immeasurable amount of time had passed when Sienna finally murdered something so quiet it could have been mistaken for the wind itself.

'I have to save him.'


	24. Kill Steal

Even her sigh, visible in the cold air, had something inherently poisonous to it - as if it tainted the atmosphere, slowing time and drawing the life out of it.   
He had been pacing back and forth for two hours now, still just as furious as he had been when he began.

'This was interesting for the first _trois_ _minutes,_ Reyes. Now? It is just boring me. Get over it.'  
Gazing down at her nails, utterly disinterested in his anger, Widowmaker could see the shadow assassin stiffen at her words out of the  corner of her eye.

But, as annoyed as he was at her use of his old name, he knew she was provoking him on purpose. It couldn't detract from his anger... His pure, unadulterated _fury_ at Talon's leaders.

Darkness seethed around his form as he thought of them again, curling in thin wisps that reached out and grasped at the air.

'He was right **_there._** I had **_every_** chance.'

Reaper's growling voice was quiet, but filled with so much raw emotion that the room grew distinctly colder around them both.

Finally fed up of her work partner's _childish tantrum_ , repeating the same things over and over again, the sniper slid gracefully off the storage container, bracing herself with one arm outstretched as the ground rushed up to meet her.   
As smooth as spider's silk, Widowmaker sauntered over to the pacing man, stopping a yard before him, emotionless and deadly.

'Oh, poor little Reaper.' mocked the Spider, teasing out every word. 'Did the big boss find out about your secret little missions around Overwatch?'

Reaper impressively managed to ignore her for a minute, as she tilted her head and put a trained hand on her hip, but it proved too much as she kept up her unwavering stare.

'Haven't you got anyone else to annoy? Go loiter somewhere else. You've done enough, Widow.' Reaper snarled, lacing his last words with enough venom to match the spider herself.   
He'd reached his limit with her taunts, and the sound of ripping leather accompanied it as he curled his claws into his own palms in attempted self-restraint.

Widowmaker would have laughed, if she felt any emotion. Anyone who knew Reaper at all did not prize him for his ability to stay calm, and Amélie Lacroix was no exception - however, instead of fearing him, she actively _pursued_ his untamed anger.

Turning her lidded gaze away from him and back to her perfectly kempt nails, she leant back on her hips - becoming a model picture of disinterest....   
But the melodic, _mocking_ tone that wove effortlessly through her French accent was unmistakable.

'It is truly a _shame._ I wonder how they knew you were in there? I guess they'll never trust you to take out Jack now...' Glancing up at the masked man, she knew he could see the heartless glint in her eyes.

Turning his broad, armoured shoulders to face her, his huge frame shook.

'You fucking **_bastard. You told them_**.'

Silence settled between them for a second that stretched into an eternity. But, instead of exploding into a rage, guns blazing, Widowmaker watched as blood dripped slowly from his palms off his claws. Finally, when a crimson puddle began to form on the floor beneath him, the former Blackwatch member breathed out heavily, crushing his pride and turning away from her. Bristling all over, muscles taut, it took all his concentration not to put a bullet in her damn skull right at that moment.

_She's_ **_enjoying_ ** _this._

Knowing that it was exactly the reaction she wanted from him, Reaper refused to give it to her. He could forgo his pride when it came to his own anger, but he would not lose to her _manipulation._

He turned and walked. With every step further away he took, the shadows followed him. The container room lightened with every meter, yet Widowmaker's expression darkened even more so.   
But she would not let her prey slip away just like that.

'Maybe they will ask me to take the Soldier out instead. After all, I don't have any particular _emotional attachment...'_

This time, Widowmaker's melodic tone was tinged with something different, something akin to... annoyance? But through his fury, Reaper heard none of it. Darkness pooled around him, writhing and pulling, trying to turn him around - but failing until the spider spoke again. This time her voice was calm, yet spiked with confidence as if she knew her words would work.

'Who knows, maybe they will let me kill your pretty _petite amie_ too? Oh, merveilleux! How I would love to give her the Widow's kiss--'

Before Widowmaker could even finish her sentence, the shadows had thust the Reaper directly in front of her, and the silver metal of his shotguns pressed hard into her throat like an executioner blade.

Despite it all, for the first time since Gabriel Reyes had met Amélie Lacroix, he finally heard her laugh. A cold, empty sound; distorted by the steel pushing against her vulnerable throat.

_'_ My, oh my. I almost feel something when you do this.' With a rare smile that pulled back her blue skin to reveal sharp features, Reaper's fury only heightened, and his hands rose to push harder with his guns.

'Is this just a game to you, you sadistic bitch? A **_game?'_**  
Reaper was visibly trembling now, unable to control the adrenaline that coursed through his veins, setting his scarred skin on fire. His voice rumbled low and deadly through the air. Leaning closer in, Widow nearly buckled under his weight, but she managed to hold her ground.

'If you touch either of them ** _, I will rip your throat our with my bare hands. I will make you regret the day you were born._**   
**_They. Are._** ** _Mine._** ** _'_**

The dark, empty sockets of Reaper's mask bore into her skin, unrelenting, and she couldn't help but stare back, revelling in rush of danger. Suddenly, the pressure pushing against Widowmaker's throat disappeared, and she took a step back to stabilise herself.

_Gone._

Watching the final shadows twist and dissipate in the air where Reaper had stood just seconds before, she moved a hand to her neck and smiled. It was too easy to torment the other Talon members, but Reaper was the only one who truly brought her the same rush of _feeling._  
Musing over the emotion, it was second only to the feeling of putting a bullet through a target's heart.

'Or, even better' she spoke, 'though their skull.'

Amused at her own horrific humour, she stalked away back into darkness, having satisfied her addiction for now. The clicking of her heels slowly faded away like everything else into the night.


	25. A Little Gift

That week, Sienna died.

Well, not literally.   
_But I'd argue that I'm damn close._

Sprawled out on the courtyard grass in the setting sunlight, battered and bruised and aching all over, Sienna couldn't bring herself to move.   
_Why, oh why, did I ask Jack Morrison... the 'infamous' Soldier 76....to train me..._  
The warmth of the day was fading now, but she was too physically exhausted to bring herself to get up and head to her next training session.

Behind her closed lids, the orange backlight suddenly disappeared as a shadow was cast over her. Raising a week arm and reluctantly opening her eyes, the half-man half-omnic stood over her, a faint green glow illuminating him.

'Hey Genji.' Sienna said, her voice sounding just as dead as she felt. Closing her eyes again for just a moment, she felt him sit quietly down next to her.   
'Sorry. Am I late? I'll be ready in a moment, I just need to take a slight break for a few minutes'

The ninja chuckled and turned to look at Sienna lying on the ground next to him, waving a dismissing hand. 'You're not late, I just thought you looked comfy down here.'  
He paused, stretching his legs on the grass, and the clicking of metal resounded in the air.   
'So, Jack's training was that hard today was it?'

Unable to turn more than just her head to face him, Sienna looked up with her dark eyes.   
'Jack's training is this hard _every day._ It's just finally caught up with me'

At first, her words sounded just depressing, but as she tilted her head back up to the sky, she couldn't help but grin, feeling Genji laughing beside her.

Deciding it would be rude to keep her swordmaster sensei waiting, she dragged her arms behind her and pushed her weight up - only to find Genji pushing her back down again with two fingers against her chest.

'No training today, I am cancelling today's session.'   
Looking out over the courtyard walls, the sun had already disappeared behind the cityscape, the light turning his armour a soft shade of pink.  Settling comfortably down, the half-omnic took in the gorgeous view, ignoring the shocked look on Sienna's face. 'There is only so much you can learn over such a short period of time, Sienna.'

Utterly surprised at his words, Sienna fought against his hand and sat up immediately, facing him.

'Genji, wait, please! I'm okay. I can train. I promise I'm fine.' she pleaded, terrified of losing her new teacher - hating the thought that she had just blown everything.

Soldier 76 had done a fine job of teaching her the basics of dual blade weilding, but had suggested that Sienna sought out Genji for more advanced technique. He was, after all, a master swordsman.   
And so, every day, after her crossbow and close combat training with Jack, she would meet Genji to spar if he was free - something that he seemed genuinely happy to oblige her with.

But this time, he refused, looking away from her to the soft sunset.

'Sienna, you are only human. Although I am not completely any more, I remember what it was like to be that exhausted. You will learn nothing like this.'

'But Genji-'

'Tomorrow, Sienna. You must be healed, first.' He interrupted, his robotic voice managing to convey both firmness and kindness at the same time - and Sienna couldn't help but be reminded of his own master, Zenyatta.

Leaning back on the grass, she let her eyes close again, annoyed but understanding his decision. Frustration coursed through her, and her fingernails subconsciously ripped out chunks of the grass beside them.

'I can't afford to waste time like this...' Sienna mumbled into the ground, quiet enough that she expected her sensei not to hear - but at the same time forgetting his robotically enhanced senses.

Her words piqued his curiosity, and he turned away from the silhouetted cityscape; the green light from his visor shining down onto the brunette.  
'I have wanted to ask this for a while, Sienna. Why are you in such a rush to learn?'

As soon as she heard the question, a cold sweat came over her, and her heart sank. _How am I supposed to answer that?_

Opening her eyes, she found Genji leaning over her, as if examining her intently through his visored gaze. Sienna closed them again immediately.

'Um, well...'

_Just tell the truth, Sienna. Say what you can._

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and began to speak, slowly and cautiously... But the more she spoke the more the words just flooded out, like a dam had been opened in her heart.

'I want to be able to protect everyone at Overwatch. Every second I've spent here, since the very beginning, I've been welcomed like one of you... And the more and more I get to know everybody here, the less I want to see them hurt. You are all so, so selfless - every single person I've met here truly _cares._ About the world, about each other - about doing _good . I want_ to be able to fight _... I need_ to be able to fight to save what is important to me.   
And...'

Sienna choked up on her words, feeling her emotions coming to a peak. Raising an arm to her eyes so Genji wouldn't see the tears beginning to form, she swallowed and continued.  
'If I don't learn soon, there might not be anyone important left for me to save.'

With a single tear streaming down her face, Sienna couldn't bear to move her arm away from her face. The embarrassment was eating her up ftom the inside, and she could feel Genji still watching her, judging her until-

A cool, metal hand placed itself softly on her forehead, brushing lightly against her forearm.

'Thank you, Sienna.'

And suddenly it wasn't embarrassing anymore. It was as if Zenyatta was nearby, calming her... but the courtyard was empty except for the two of them.

_Like master like pupil._

A bubble of slow calmness  enveloped her, and she cautiously slid her arm down, wiping her eyes and peering up at Genji - but he wasn't watching her any longer. With one hand still gently on her forehead, he leaned to his right and dug into a small satchel, pulling out a flat, wooden box that he placed on his lap.

Despite his covered face, Sienna could hear the smile in Genji's voice when he spoke next.  
'Today would have been only the fifth day since we started sparring, however you have progressed quicker than I could ever have imagined.'

Looking up from the box to her, Sienna could feel the pride emanating from him, and she couldn't help but blush, still aware of her damp face.

'And' continued Genji, smiling deeply under his mask, 'I understand why that is, now.'

Finding now a good time to sit up, Sienna heaved herself onto her arms, propping herself up and wiping her face - only to find her swordmaster handing her the box from his lap.

'G-Genji? What's this?' Honestly puzzled, Sienna hesitated before taking the box in both her rough hands, running her calloused fingers over the dark wood. Her emotions forgotten, she stared at the box.  
It was smooth and heavy, and clearly valuable - but that didn't mean anything to Sienna. _Is he really giving this to me? A... Gift?_

_'_ I was planning to give this to you when the time was right, and you had earned it.' Genji said, with tint of embarrassment in his voice himself.

Turning slowly to look at her now, he tilted his head and Sienna could feel the warmth emanating from him; friendly and trusting - as if she had known him for a lifetime.

'But now I know you've already earned it. Go on, open it'

Hastily closing her jaw which had somehow ended up open, Sienna flushed bright red. She hadn't expected anything like this, and her fingers fumbled lightly with the gold clasp. Lifting up the lock, Sienna was even more shocked.   
Two golden, engraved daggers - the size of her hand - lay in the soft velvet lining of the box.

Unable to do anything but gap, she ran her fingers as light as feathers down the blades, feeling the metal as it morphed into the leather handle - intricately carved and embossed.

'Genji.... They're beautiful.' she breathed, unable to bear looking away from them. 'I don't know what to say. I... I-'  
Snapping the lid shut, Sienna turned to face him, and took the box in both her hands, placing it back in his.   
'I can't accept these. Thank you, but this is too much. You've already done so much for me, I can't accept anything else.'   
Receiving no response except his gaze, she pushed the box further into his hands and tried once more. 'Please.'

But before she could force his gift back to him any harder, he leapt up onto his feet, landing as gracefully as a cat. Blinking rapidly, Sienna could feel him grinning under his mask.

'Ha! If you can catch me now, I'll take them back - so farewell, Sienna!'

Leaping to her feet, she wasn't quite fast enough to reach out to him as he vaulted over the wall and onto the roof of the compound with ease, gone in seconds.   
Her legs tensed to follow, but the weight of the box in her hand stopped her.   
_I can't put this anywhere, and I need both my hands..._

_'_ Damn you Genji, this was your plan the whole time' Sienna laughed, quickly getting over it. Deciding it wouldn't do any good to keep trying to return it, she opened the box again, lifting out one of the daggers and removing its sheath.

On closer inspection, they were just as gorgeous as they had been at first sight. They were weighted but light, clearly made to be a hidden, last defence - with the potential to be thrown, too.   
But Sienna cringed at the idea of throwing them. 'I wouldn't be able to bear losing them...'

At the same time, she couldn't imagine a scenario where she would be without both her swords _and_ her crossbow - even as a last defence, Sienna was sure she'd still have her dual blades.

'When I finish my training, I'll get my own weapons - and they won't leave my sight. But these...'  
As she spoke, ideas kept rushing into her head.

'With these, I can keep them on me at all times.... Jack, well, he doesnt have to know, right.' She asked herself, feeling mischievous.   
'Besides, he'll probably call them 'unnecessary'.'

Placing the daggers back in the box, Sienna started off back towards her room, limping slightly, with ( _thankfully_ ) no training session to get to anymore.

Unable to stop herself as she walked, Sienna opened the box again and again just to look at them, and finding herself smiling like an idiot every time.   
With all the loaned items, clothes, weapons, and even her room in the headquarters, it hit Sienna why they made her so happy.   
'This is the first thing here that is truly _mine.'_

And for the first time since she arrived, with the daggers by her side, Sienna began to feel a bit more positive. Her bones ached and her fingers shook, but Sienna had never felt more optimistic in her life.


	26. Fear Nothing

When Sienna arrived back at her room, she took out both the daggers.  
With the possibility of Reaper arriving at any time, ' _it's more important than ever to make sure I can defend myself and everyone else_ ' She murmered, still entranced by the way the light caught the gold lines on the weapons.

She'd only ever seen it be done on old TV shows and movies, but it wasn't like Sienna had any other ideas of where to put them.  
Making sure they were both sheathed, she slid one dagger into her boot next to her ankle. Shifting it around a bit, she actually managed to find a comfy spot, and admired her handiwork in the mirror by the wardrobe. It was completely hidden, short enough not to rise above the height of the boot, and thin enough to not be uncomfortable or create a lump.

The other dagger, however, was more stubborn than she expected. At first, Sienna had tucked it into the waistband of her trousers, against her spine.... But after a few meters of walking, she found it slipping down and poking into her repeatedly. After the fourth failed attempt, she let out a an exasperated groan.

'Ugh. This isn't as easy as it looked in 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' sighed Sienna, remembering the old western movie that McCree had forced everyone to watch one night, on behalf of it being 'educational'.

But it _did_ make her think.  
'They'd all had holsters for their guns though - maybe I need something similar?' Wondered Sienna, considering the possibilites.

'No, a holster would be too visible... But something thin to hold it up on the inside would be good.

And soon enough, she'd done it. Ripping off one of the belt loops on her trousers, she managed to reattach them on the inside, making a horizontal loop that fastened around lip of the dagger in its sheath, stopping it from falling down. It was perfect.

The dagger hung slightly at an angle, making it easy for Sienna to reach back and pull it quickly out of its sheath in seconds.

_And it looks pretty badass, too.... But that's all they'll be unless I get Genji to teach me how to use them properly._

And so Sienna resolved to find him tomorrow, not only to ask for more training but to thank him properly.

Giving one final shake to make sure the daggers wouldn't fall out or stab her, she lifted her head high and left her room, immediately being drawn to the dining hall by the smell of something delicious. Spirits heightened, there was somewhat of a spring in Sienna's step as she half walked half ran towards the tempting aromas drifting through the corridors.

//

Three hours, and so much laughter that her cheeks hurt, later Sienna was meandering back to her room, still smiling. Jack Morrison walked beside her, his mask still on but his posture relaxed and calm - betraying the stern look his appearance gave. As she approached her room in the warm light of the hallway, that cosy, comforting feeling in her heart was there again.

'All of them... They really are far better than I could ever have imagined.'

Looking up towards the soldier on her left as they padded down the hall, Sienna couldn't help but blurt out what she had been thinking all evening.

'So much more than just the heroes I used to see on the news... but at the same time, less'

Hearing that, Soldier 76 looked at her, seemingly surprised, and let out a quiet grunt.  
'What do you mean, 'less'?'

Finally reaching Sienna's room, they both slowed to a stop outside it.

In her heart, Sienna knew what she really felt like. Everyone had accepted her like... _Like I'm their family._

'I mean that, they're not just these big heroes who fight crime and save people and create justice. They... You... You're all real people too. With personalities and worries and cares and _lives.'_

Pausing for a second, Sienna did something she didn't expect from herself at all. Wrapping her arms around the soldier in front of her, she pressed her cheek against his chest - feeling him momentarily stiffen in surprise, before slowly - and slightly awkwardly - lifting his arms against her back too.

 _'_ Thank you, Jack.'

Her voice was muffled against his jacket, but he heard her loud and clear. Looking up to the ceiling, he cleated his throat loudly.

'I don't know what you're thanking me for.' Jack Morrison started, his gruff voice tinged with embarassment, but something stopped him and he looked down, patting her back soothingly.

'I'm glad you're here, kiddo. We all are.'

Leaning out of the hug and taking a step back, Sienna smiled warmly up at him.

'But you should get a better place for that waist dagger. The way you walk gives it away completely.'

Suddenly completely over his embarassment, Sienna couldn't help but laugh at the Soldier's humour as he waved goodnight to her, turning away before his own chuckles sounded through his mask.  
  
  


When he finally disappeared from sight, the warm smile was still painted across Sienna's face as she opened her door, light flooding into the dark room. Not bothering to turn the light on, she padded across to her bed before kicking her shoes off.  
Sighing lightly, sad that such a good day had to come to an end, she gently lifted the dagger from her boot and placed it in her bedside table drawer - not wanting it to be far from her.

_Better safe than sorry, Sienna._

But as she pulled off her jacket and headed over to the curtains to shut them, something shifted behind her.  
At the same time, a gust of wind blew her hair in a flurry around her face, masking her vision for a second. Turning to face the noise immediately, her jacket finished slipping off the bed and onto the floor.

'Oh. Well, that scared me for nothing'

Heaving a sigh of relief and mentally laughing at herself for jumping at the sound, Sienna got back to her routine.

Meandering over back to the single bed against the wall, she reached for the bottom of her shirt and began to lift it when her blood froze in her veins, and the air in her lungs shattered into a million pieces.

That _voice_.

'I wouldn't call myself ' _nothing_ ''


	27. Intoxicating

The sound of his foot taking a step on the hard wood floor snapped Sienna out of her daze.

Spinning round, Reaper's huge dark frame occupied her vision, seeing him as he leant casually against her wall.  
A thick tension engulfed them both, quiet and heavy in the shadowy darkness.

An eternity seemed to pass between them, moments beginning and ending over and over, his voice still echoing endlessly around them both.  
Reaper never was too patient, however, and as he leant forward off the wall Sienna snapped out of her daze; one hand slowly snaking behind her back to reach for her blade.

But as he spoke again, something in the tone of his voice was off.

'Ah, long time no see, Little Girl. Didn't you miss me?'

Sienna hadn't noticed it the first time; having been too busy hearing her own heart thump in her throat... But it was definitely noticeable now.  
_.... He's... Slurring his words?_

Before Sienna could comprehend what that meant, it was forced on her as Reaper suddenly lurched forward unexpectedly. Startled by his sudden movement, Sienna took a step back and her leg collided with the bed, tripping her into half falling-half sitting down.

The bed creaked loudly, and the sound was deafening in the silence between them.

Seemingly surprised by the girl in front of him's reaction, Reaper stopped... and half wobbled on his feet.

And then it hit her. The smell.

_Alcohol._

It was overpowering, and the scent seemed to cling to everything around her, penetrating her senses and stunning her momentarily.

But despite it all, the fear that Sienna felt just moments ago melted away instantly, only to be replaced with a sense of uneasiness and confusion that left her utterly at loss for what to do. Shifting slightly on the bed, she grappled with her brain for words as her free hand dug into the sheets below.

'Reaper... What are you-'  
_No, that's not it. Be direct, Sienna._  
'Are you drunk, Reaper?'

Not moving at all, he ignored her completely and repeated himself, making an annoyed huffing sound.

'I asked you a question.'

'I...'  
Sienna had no idea what to say.

_What? Do I miss him?_

Was this the same man she had treated day after day, all that time ago? Deep in her heart, Sienna knew that if she looked closely enough she would find an answer to his question that she really _didn't want to think about at the moment._ An undeniable truth that she'd realised since the day she left him. A truth that she now **_hated._**

_This is the man who wants to kill Soldier 76, and probably you. A_ **_murderer_ ** _, Sienna. Just appease him so he doesn't kill you right this second. Bide your time, maybe you can take him out first._

But in truth, Sienna didn't believe that at all. At the same time, she couldn't lie to him either, nor could she bring herself to tell him the truth.

'I... I found myself thinking about how I would end up seeing you next '

As she said it, her right hand finally grasped the blade in her waistband, wrapping around it firmly. The cold metal of the handle was surprising, and it brought back some reality to the situation. Keeping her dark eyes focused straight on his pale mask, Sienna's heart was racing.

_Reaper is here. He's drunk. You won't have an opportunity like this for a long time, Sienna._

The shadow walker grunted as if somewhat satisfied with her answer, before casually taking another step closer and leaning down to put himself at her height, as if examining her closely. His immense build blocked out the fading light from the window, and the brunette instantly knew it has her moment.

There was no plan, just pure instinct and gritted teeth as Sienna ripped the dagger round her side, slicing impossibly fast through the air towards his throat - but somehow, he was faster.

Before she could blink, the clattering of metal against the wooden floor signified her dagger being thrown across the room, and a clawed hand wrapped instantly around her wrist, dragging her onto her feet. The momentum of it knocked the breath out of her lungs, and as she finally took a ragged gasp of air, Sienna knew she'd _fucked up_.

When the dust finally settled, the sound of her own rushing blood was the only thing she could hear.

One arm was pinned against the small of her back, while the other was wrapped across her chest and neck, held there by Reaper's own leather clad arm pressing against her own. Her back pressed against him; there was no way she was getting out of this.

_Shit._

Accepting her fate, Sienna squeezed her eyes closed in anger. _How could I be so stupid?_

Tensing her muscles experimentally, Sienna pushed against Reaper's heavy arms - but his response was only to push harder against her, pressing her body more closely into him.

Inhaling suddenly, instantly far too aware of how intimately close they were, a shiver ran up Sienna's spine that she _prayed_ he didn't feel as her skin burned in embarrassment. Horrified at her own reaction to him, she closed her eyes even tighter, blocking out her feelings.

Feeling his chest rise and fall against her back made her heart race, and brought back unsettling memories of her hands working tirelessly on his wounds, settling into a rhythm that matched his breathing.

This close, the smell of alcohol was like a thick cloud around them both, yet at the same time Sienna couldn't help but recognise his own smell underneath the  drunken layers. Earthen and somehow... _homely._

But before the intoxicating smell muddled up her senses too much, Sienna turned her head a fraction only to find Reaper's voice suddenly in her ear, soft and melodic, taunting and teasing the girl under his control.

_'Now that wasn't very nice of you'_


	28. Bodyguarding

Terror ran through Sienna like an electric charge as she struggled in his arms, feeling the ghost of his breath creep along her neck - but before she could do anything her feet were in the air and her whole body was falling.

It only lasted a second, but Sienna stifled a scream as she landed on something hard and leather. Reaper's arms were still immobilising her against his chest... And now his legs too, as her thighs pressed into his.

With the rush of completely conflicting emotions that swept through her, the only thing Sienna could think was

_Well, I didn't expect this._

Reaper shifted slightly underneath her and Sienna tensed up again, not sure what his plan was. His hands hadn't moved from their restraining grip, but his back seemed to slouch a little behind her as she felt his stomach move out of contact and his chest press a little harder against her shoulders. Now essentially sat on his lap, the smell of alcohol was just as strong as it had been when he'd first leaned in, but he was so close now Sienna could pick up even the tiniest motes of detail... _Whisky?_

'Listen, Girl. I didn't come here to let you kill me. Don't try it again. Besides, you're too...'  
There was a pause in his rough voice, as if his alcohol-soaked brain was struggling to think of the right word

'... small.'

Somehow, he had become far more talkative in this mood, but it definitely wasn't doing anything to remedy the situation.   
Anger flared up inside Sienna, but just as she began to struggle in indignation, Reaper took the exact moment to let go of both his arms, effectively letting Sienna fall forwards off his lap.

Only just managing to remain on her feet, Sienna swivelled round immediately, fury replacing all her fear under her tingling skin.

'What. Is. This?!' she hissed, seething, rerouting her embarrassment for a more useful cause. Seeing only the blank face of his mask in response only infuriated her more as she stood her ground in front of him.

'You come here, to MY room, after all your _threats_ and your _taunts_ and your VANDALISM-'

Completely ignoring her, Reaper suddenly leant back onto her bed, leaving his legs hanging off the edge in the most casual, uncaring manner in the world.

Utterly shocked, Sienna couldn't help but glance over at the dagger scattered on the floor under the window, only to hear a familiar grunt, followed by

'Don't.'

Seeing him so open and so, _well_ , _clearly drunk_ kind of deflated Sienna's anger. Deciding to keep quiet for a bit and not explode at someone who could easily kill her in a heartbeat, she wasn't really sure what to do next. Seeing her jacket lying on the floor, she nervously put it on, but soon found her legs trembling slightly.

Feeling mildly envious of his comfort, on _her own bed,_ she crept round his side, and sat herself on the furthest corner of the bed from him. It was only about an arm's stretch away, but something about his relaxed pose made Sienna really feel that he meant what he'd said earlier.

_He's not here to kill us all. That's a relief at least._

'Why are you here, Reaper?'

Sienna's voice didn't crack, but it might as well have as Reaper turned his head towards her, the sockets of his mask boring into her own dark eyes. It was if he could see straight through her, and she couldn't help but look away.  
He didn't answer her, instead responding with his own question.

'What are you doing over there?'

Reaper's words didn't slur this time, but Sienna couldn't help but be stunned at how drunk he had let himself become. How vulnerable in front of her.

_He trusts you, Sienna. For some reason, he's here and it's because of you._

Shaking her own head and blocking out the tiny voice, she was the one who stammered on her next words as as she couldn't get the thought out of her head

'I'm- what? I, uh-'

'Come over here'

The sound of brushing leather cut through what would have been an electric, embarrassed silence as Reaper sat up, leaning back on one arm with his masked eyes never leaving her face.

Scanning his words for any trace of his usual taunts and undertones, Sienna couldn't find anything but a strange honesty that clung to his velvet voice, still gravelled and rough but oddly calm.

With no idea what she was doing, her body moved of its own accord as she shuffled an inch closer, then another and another until she realised she was sat _far too close to him_.

Before she could correct herself and lean back a bit, Reaper had lifted a clawed hand up, and leaned in towards her.   
Inhaling sharply at the unexpected movement, Sienna chided herself for being jumpy when he simply lifted his claws towards the lapels on her training jacket.

The silver metal of his armour made tiny peals of noise as they moved next to each other, lightly gripping the fabric and teasing it.   
'You got a new one already, I see?'

Instantly aware of what he was taking about, the memory of her last, torn up jacket strewn on the floor shot through her mind. But even in the face of that Sienna couldn't help the blood that rushed to the top of skin, as he looked back towards her again from the jacket, feeling the heat it was emanating in her cheeks.

_Too close_

Squeezing her eyes shut immediately, she couldn't stop the shiver than ran along her skin and up her spine - but the worst part was the quiet laugh that came out of the man sat in front of her as he saw her.

With the soft sound of his laughter, Reaper dropped his claws from her jacket, but Sienna couldn't help but notice how genuine the noise had been... And how close to her thigh he had left his hand.  
 _Stop over thinking everything. Just make sure you have a way out if something goes wrong._  
  


Refusing to move away out of pure stubbornness, or so she told herself, Sienna looked up at him determined to get an answer for her question. Softer this time, nervous being so close to him, she spoke.

'Reaper... Why are you here?'

It was the third time she had asked now, and something about it all was feeling a bit off.

_Why is he avoiding the question? Is there something wrong? Is he..._

Thinking back to the days she spent in his apartment, there was one thing she hadn't considered yet.

Reaching out to him immediately, she moved forward and placed her hands on his chest, her brows furrowing in worry and fear. All embarassment shoved aside, this was far more important,

'Are.. Are you hurt? Please, let me see... Why didn't you tell me earlier? Reaper-'

He did nothing to push her hands away, but instead threw his hands up in annoyance, both giving into her questioning and releasing his anger.

'She won't leave me alone, that _bitch_. You're all she damn well talks about - putting a bullet through your skull.'

Stunned by his outburst, Sienna let her hands drop but didn't move away. There was something strangely intimate about the way he let his emotions go, and she couldn't help but be drawn in.

'Who?' She asked

Turning to her like she was an idiot, Reaper growled. 'Who else? Widowmaker. She's obsessed with you, and it's getting on my nerves.'

Feeling like she was starting to understand it all, Sienna felt her heart drop slightly.  
'So... You only came here to get away from her?'

Instantly stopping what he was doing, Reaper looked her dead in the eye, close enough that she could hear his voice rumbling through his chest, low and powerful.

'I came here to make sure what's mine, stays mine.'

As if he had exhausted his everything in just saying that, the shadow assassin fell backwards onto her bed again, bouncing Sienna slightly.

Murmering now, quiet and rumbling, he slurred over a couple more words.

'If anyone is going to be the last thing your pretty face sees; it's going to be me, not some _emotionally deadbeat_ _sniper_ '

Twitching slightly as if wincing, Reaper put on hand on his forehead and groaned.

_And that'll be the alcohol catching up with him -_ Sienna's brain picked through the scenario logically, but her heart skipped a beat as she heard his voice playing over and over in her head.

_'What's mine, stays mine'_. What did that even mean?! 

Letting out a 'gaahhhh' sound that she didn't realise was out aloud, Sienna mentally slapped herself before tugging on his arm.

'Let... Let me get you some water. Hey, sit up-'  
At this point, Sienna was starting to wonder if she would ever get Reaper out of her room without horrendously embarassing herself, when it was made clear that, no, she wouldn't.

Having had enough with her tugging his arm, Reaper reached over with his other hand and pulled her down instead. Not expecting it at all, it was all Sienna could do to put both her arms either side of his chest, stopping herself falling on him completely.

Tilting his head in that all-too-familiar gesture, Sienna recognised his victorious smirk immediately and tried - and failed - to sit up again with his hands around her arms.

Exhasperated, blushing hard, and internally screaming with a mixture of joy and confusion Sienna pulled away again. 'I'm trying to get you some water, can't you be cooperative? Doesn't your head hurt?'

'Why can't **_you_** be cooperative? Stop being so loud-'  tugging suddenly harder, Sienna let herself be pulled down beside him, her heart racing faster than anything had ever made it before.

Now that she was next to him, something in his voice switched, becoming low and subtle. It lost its mocking tone and suddenly became almost sleepily sultry - and if Sienna didn't notice it at first, she definitely noticed it a second later as he rolled onto his side, bringing his body closer and his face directly in front of hers.

'Now... isn't that better?'

Utterly stunned by his forewardness, the brunette was completely helpless as she gawped at the heavy-built man lying in front of her. Despite the mantra rebounded in her head that ' _it's okay, he's just drunk',_ she couldn't help the goosebumps that pricked her skin as the night air from the window blew over them both....

Nor could she help the electrifying sensation that came with Reaper's hand softly moving on her waist, pressing lightly on the curve above her hips.


	29. Worth Crying For

****

Muffling a soft gasp that somehow broke free from her lips; thoughts about how much this was all she had secretly dreamed about since she left him danced in her mind. Reaper didn't take his eyes off her, only an arm's width from her body, letting his hand rest easily on the jacket above her skin.

Unable to help herself, Sienna took a huge risk that had backfired on her last time. Hushed and whispered, her voice didn't break the moment, only added to it.

'Reyes...'

Silence continued in the tiny space between them, but not before Sienna heard a low sigh, as if exasperated.

Then, lower than the brunette thought possible to hear, his voice floated out to her again  
'Don't call him back. He doesn't deserve this.'

Hearing those words Sienna's heart snapped in two, like someone had driven a blunt blade into her, and **_twisted_** it. His internal torment broke her, as if he was sharing his feelings through their contact.   
Shaking herself out of it, one thing caught her attention.

_Was 'this' something good or something bad?_

As Sienna started to respond to his desperate words, Reaper obviously had other plans than to listen to her beguile him as he gripped her waist and pulled her in, interrupting her words.

At the same time, Sienna stifled a gasp as Reaper's claws dug deeply into her skin through her jacket. It was clear that it hadn't been intentional, but Sienna shuddered as pain rippled through her, but said nothing as her face was pressed into the chest of her enemy, one of his arms slung over her body and his head lolling back like a man who had drunk far, _far_ too much alcohol.

Thankfully, her wildly uncontrolled emotions were pumping out so much adrenaline that not only did her heart feel like it would burst, but did something to lessen the unpleasant sensations.

Ignoring the rest of the pain as best as she could, Sienna raised both her hands to his leather-bound chest and pushed. To no surprise, the man was unnaturally heavy, and she failed miserably. Giving up on getting any more information out of Reaper, and shunting all her wildly flying emotions into a tiny corner of her mind, Sienna was reaching the end of her tether.

_For God's sake, pull yourself together, and get this man out of your room before you compromise everything._

Eager to please the internal voice that was now screaming at her, Sienna leaned away from the black armour that her face had been pressed into, only for Reaper to curl his leg up and press into her thighs.

Stiffening immediately at the increased contact, a spark travelled up her spine straight to her blushing cheeks. But she wouldn't let her irregularly beating heart stop her now.   
Putting a pause on bringing Gabriel Reyes back for a moment, Sienna put a worn hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly, bringing his head back to look at her.

'Hey! Don't you fall asleep on me! You can't do this here...'  
Trailing off, Sienna began to realise she had no idea what to do, only for Reaper to slowly move his head to look around.

Groaning slightly, and putting another hand on his forehead, he sat up and wobbled, taking his arm off her to stabilise himself.

'Yeah, it's uncomfortable.'

Sighing in relief as the Talon member stood up, it took a sudden turn to exasperation as he turned and collapsed properly into her bed, shifting the pillow underneath his head and getting comfortable.

 

'Reaper.... I.... This is - **not** \- what I meant.'

Throwing her hands up in the air for the millionth time that night, Sienna put one hand over her eyes; half in frustration and half to cover up her embarrassed face.

Giving up on getting him to leave, Sienna herself leaned over to pick up the water bottle again, pain pricking her wounded side.

She truly did think water would help him, but a growing part of her was still deathly curious to see under the mask. See the eyes which had looked at her for so long. See the scars she knew painted his skin.... See the real face of the man she couldn't deny her love for.

Crushing the thought as it emerged, she moved to sit up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, offering the water again.   
_If he doesn't drink any water he's going to have an awful hangover tomorrow... And if he ends up staying the night, my alarm in the morning is going to wake up a very, **very** irritable Reaper._

 

Shuddering at the thought, Sienna put it all on hold and turned away from the dozing man on her bed. 

'It's like the tables have been turned,' the brunette murmured, remembering her days sleeping in Reaper's room back when he first kidnapped her. Looking over her shoulder back at him, she couldn't help but think about how things had all changed _so much._  

Something about the sentiment filled Sienna with warmth; a soft bubbling feeling that filled her lungs and hugged her heart tight. Letting the sides of her eyes crease in a quiet smile,  she turned back again to focus on the pain trying to ruin her moment. 

Lifting up her shirt slightly, there was more blood than she had expected. It had stopped flowing already, but the piece of clothing was damp and ruined. _Even if I could get the blood out,_ Sienna thought,  _someone will definitely notice the holes from his claws._

Deciding to make the most of the situation, she wiped the blood off and cleaned herself up with a damp rag. The wounds were pretty open, however, and Sienna swept her hair out of her eyes as she pulled up the first aid kit. It had already been used a fair amount since she had arrived at the new Overwatch headquarters, especially the blister plasters and salve creams. Zarya had worked her to the bone, and her hands already showed the marks of it. One thing that she now found herself very grateful not to have used were the bandages, which she removed now, spinning them round her fingers.

It was difficult to see in the darkening room, but Sienna was loathe to turn on the lights lest she face the wrath of a not-so-sober and extremely tired assassin. Checking her side with a couple of tender probes of her fingertips, Sienna sighed and wrapped the bandage around her waist.

She would deal with this another time, she reasoned, glancing over at her bed again. _Probably when I have less on my mind._

Tying the bandage and quickly pulling a spare shirt out, Sienna decided Reaper was too fast asleep to see her change. Replacing the top with another old one that she didn't mind ruining, she turned around and faced her problems.

Reaper.

Still as asleep as he had been 2 minutes ago, and now making tiny sleepy sounds, Sienna crept quietly over to the edge of the bed.

_He's kind of cute when he's asleep_

There was no way she was sleeping on the floor, but her other options weren't so favourable either. The bed was a small double size, but with Reaper in his full armour taking up over half of it, Sienna eyed the small space suspiciously, and eyed his claws even more suspiciously.

Patting her side cautiously, making sure the bandage was still in place, Sienna convinced herself  it was worth it.

'You need the bed, Sienna. You're injured.' Soft, her voice drifted into her own ears like a devil on her shoulder. _Or is that just your excuse?_

_'_ Nope. There's no other option. It'll be fine. He's so fast asleep he won't even move. It'll be fine. Just fine...'

And with one cautious step after another, Sienna found herself pulling her shoes off and slipping under the duvet, bunching it up on the side of her closest to Reaper like a barrier. 

He didn't move at all as she got into the bed, but as she settled down, the brunette couldn't help but notice how deathly quiet the room was again. No breeze shifting the curtains, no footsteps on the floor, no quiet sleeping sounds from the man next to her...

_Shit, did he wake up?_

Mortally embarrassed, Sienna instantly pulled up the duvet around her face, only just gaining the confidence to peek over the top at Reaper after a minute of agonising silence.

'Are... Are you okay?'

It was disconcerting looking at his mask like this, not knowing whether his eyes were even open or closed. After another minute or so, Sienna reasoned that maybe he really was asleep after all, when his velvet voice met her ears again, muffled and hushed.

'I won't let her hurt you'

His honey voice trailed off at the end, and Reaper resumed his soft hums and sighs - instantly asleep again, lost in his drunken dreams.

A wetness suddenly painted Sienna's reddened cheeks, dripping down her skin and falling onto the bed beside her. Rolling to face the ceiling, her back resting heavily in the warmed sheets, Sienna pressed her hands to her face as her tears fell endlessly beside her.

As her eyes poured out their emotions, one soaked hand slowly left her face and inched over to Reaper's outstretched palm. Pressing softly into his leather coated palm with her own fingertips, the coolness was soothing to the heat of her body.

_Oh Mother,_ Sienna cried out in her mind, her heart beating in every inch of her body. _What am I going to do with myself?_


	30. Chapter 30: Unmasked

Not quite realising just how tired she had been during the day, and how exhausting it had been to pour her heart out like that, Sienna fell asleep almost immediately next to Reaper once the tears stopped flowing.

It was dreamless and uneventful, but real life couldn't have been less so. As the dawn light began to flood through the window, Sienna was the first to awaken - and her morning daze didn't last long this time.

Jumping out of her skin and stifling a tiny scream at the white mask inches away from her face, and the arm draped heavily over her chest, Sienna lay frozen in her bed.

_Oh God, it wasn't just a dream_...  _Last night really happened._

Panicking inside her mind, but trying to calm her frantic heart, Sienna closed her eyes again.   
 _Is he still going to be drunk this morning? Or is he going to have a terrifying hangover?_

She really wasn't sure what would be better, but either way it was clear that she wasn't going to be the one to wake him. Except, if she wasn't planning to do that, then she wouldn't be able to move anywhere.

Lifting her head to follow his arm, his heavy weight was resting on her ribs, just above where his claws had dug in last night. Drawing her attention back to her wound, it had bled through the bandage a bit and had stained her shirt, but the bed was fine and it seemed to have stopped already.

'Well, that's a small relief I guess. And he's not pressing on it right now so...' Sienna's whispers to herself trailed off as she considered her situation. Unable to turn over to look at her alarm clock, she would have to just wait until her alarm went off to get up for training.

And at that thought, dread filled her veins with ice.  _The alarm._

Knowing how grouchy and aggressive Reaper could be in normal situations only worsened Sienna's fears for how he would be if he was woken up at 6am with an  _alarm._ And not only that, but she knew he would be mortified at himself for coming to her room like this.

Frantically rushing to find a way to turn off her alarm without waking him, her planning time was cut instantly short as Reaper stretched in his sleep, yawning underneath his mask and shifting his body, somehow pressing closer into her.

With no time to think, Sienna relaxed her body and steadied her breathing. Even in a terrible mood, she trusted him. Especially after what he said last night... ' _I won't let her hurt you'..._  she felt safe somehow in his arms - even in a terrible mood, she knew he wouldn't hurt her, but it was too late now: she was committed to being 'asleep'. Feeling him wake up, she felt the exact moment he realised what was going on as his entire body froze and stiffened against her.

And then, a whisper:

' ** _Fuck_** _'_

He didn't move for another couple of moments, and Sienna managed to hold her nerve. He hadn't sat up yet, and his arm was still slung over her, as if he was trying not to wake  _her_  up.  
  
  


//

His whole body ached, and his throat was almost painfully parched, and cracked as he tilted his head upwards. Thankful to his mask that darkened the bright dawn lights streaming through the window, Reaper looked back towards the girl nestled cosily beside him.

Struggling to remember what happened last night, Reaper felt a feeling he hadn't in a very long time - a pang of fear. It was coated in a cocktail of confusion, and buried by a throbbing headache, but it was there, and Gabriel Reyes knew what it was.

Why it was there, however, was another story that wasn't quite so clear.

Expecting the usual rush of anger that came when he noticed his own weaknesses, Reaper was unnerved by the lack of hot resentment this time. He may have had no idea what on earth was going on, but each time he looked back at the sleeping girl, with her soft cheeks and messy hair splayed out behind her, her comfort and ease in his presence stirred up something within him.

For a moment, he didn't care how he got there. He didn't care about what he couldn't remember last night. Hell, he didn't even care about Soldier 76.  Something about this moment pierced his broken soul, gripping his blackened heart.

But while his body told one story, the brain inside his throbbing skull told another.

_The only reason she isn't afraid of you is because she's asleep,_ it called to him.

One voice was easy enough to push away, but as more and more taunted him, telling him how  _weak_ and  _powerless_  he was, Reaper could feel the shadows pick up and writhe around him, embodying the fury that he knew he should be feeling. But the girl....  _this_  girl.... he didn't know what she was doing to him.

Dragging his eyes away from her face, he let his gaze drift down her body. The duvet had clearly fallen off in the night, bunching up behind her like a butterfly's cocoon.

But his eyes didn't linger long, as the red stain on her shirt slid into his vision. Surprised but not worried, Reaper moved his arm off her cautiously, slow as so not to wake her, but as his arm moved over her wounded side, the site of his own claws made him recoil immediately.

Coating the metal was a dried layer of blood, and it only took the shadow assassin a second to make the connection between himself and her wound.

As if a wall had been broken down, all the anger and fury that Reaper had expected to feel earlier came flooding into him, igniting the flames that he had become so accustomed to in his past

Bristling all over, he shoved himself away from her as he could get, sitting up and leaning heavily against the wall.

_He had done this._

The sudden movement crippled him as the pounding in his head worsened dramatically, instantly making him regret whatever reasons he had for drinking so much last night.

But even now, Reaper couldn't keep his anger long, being washed away by something dark and sad.

The sight of the girl who he had watched over the last week - how strong he'd seen her be, and how soft and calm she looked now... It was almost a sense of pride that drove out his anger.   
As the situation stood, in a way, it was as if Reaper was the one who drove her to work so hard, to train so hard...

'To become who she is now...' Reaper's low voice murmured.

Noticing the light streaming higher and higher into the room, he knew he couldn't stay much longer. Sighing softly, exhaling the last of his hot-tempered emotions, he placed the blanket back over Sienna before carefully leaning over her and climbing out of the bed.

But with every step he took towards the door, the more something built up inside him, the more it made his feet feel like weights and his heart drop to the floor.

Annoyed at himself, Reaper gave up and turned around. Ripping off his mask, he strode back and crushed all his feelings into a ball, mustering as much courage as he could bear and clenching his claws into a fist.

But as he leaned over her again, and pressed his dark lips against her forehead, his will disappeared - and his body followed suit.

Reaper vanished instantly in a dark vortex of shadows, but as he landed the man let out a heartbroken roar that ripped through his core; voicing more pain, suffering and anguish than any man should ever have to deal with.   
  


//  
  


The bed sprung back up as Reaper lifted his weight off it, and Sienna squeezed her eyes tighter shut, desperately fighting against her will to jump up and stop him from leaving.

_He's blaming himself too hard for what he did, it's barely anything,_ Sienna thought - and it was true. Her wound probably looked bad, but at the moment it only barely stung.

Hearing his footsteps leave across the wooden floor, Sienna couldn't bring herself to stop him, as if it were better this way.

But in the end, she didn't need to stop him. Hearing him stomp back towards her, Reaper let out a huff before the sound of a clasp being unlatched met her ears.

Then, so softly that Sienna thought she had imagined it, a pair of lips pressed against her forehead. It lasted for only a second before the distinct sound of his teleportation blew a gust of air over her, cooling her forehead that burned from his touch.

Eyes wide open immediately in the empty room, Sienna lay silent. Shock didn't adequately describe the way she was feeling, as she tenderly reached her fingers up to brush against the place he had kissed her.  
  


...He had  _kissed_ her.


	31. Chapter 31: Mei-king Pancakes

If it weren't for the alarm clock ringing loudly through her ears, Sienna would have been convinced she was dreaming.   
Leaving the sound playing for a bit, Sienna stared at the ceiling, her hand still resting on her forehead. Strangely enough, there was no racing of her heart, no blood rush to the cheeks, no adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Just...  _Calmness._

_Or,_ Sienna began to realise,  _is it acceptance instead?_

In her heart, she knew the consequences of what she was doing. That it wouldn't work out. But then again, nothing in Sienna's life from the day she was born had really ' _worked out_ ', and things had turned out pretty okay in her opinion.

The calmness surrounding her was strange, and she sat up, feeling a sharp twanging pain in her side before pressing down on the alarm to turn it off.

Looking down, her side required some fixing, Sienna thought. Standing up gingerly, she pressed on it with her finger tips before flinching away from the pain.  _He might have been drunk and didn't mean it, but damn does this hurt._  
Getting the job over and done with, she nimbly wrapped up her side in fresh bandages and pulled on clean clothes; only just managing to have everything cleaned up as tracer burst into the room after a single knock.

'G'morning, love! Mei's baking pancakes this morning and ya sure don't wanna miss 'em - hurry up or they're all gonna be gone!'  
Hopping into Sienna's room with all her boundless energy, she was clearly eager and raring to go. The wounded brunette wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep up with Tracer today, but her enthusiasm was infectious as Sienna grabbed her bag and headed for the door, grins on both their faces and a silent promise to let herself forget last night. 

As it turned out, Mei's pancakes were  _definitely_  too good to be missed. So good, in fact, that McCree bet everyone that he could eat the most. Stood by the stove, Mei couldn't say no as five pairs of puppy dog eyes looked up at her from the kitchen table.

Only 15 minutes and a lot of cracked phone eggs later, McCree, Sienna, Tracer, Lucio and D.va herself - Hana Song - sat along the table eyeing up the pancake plates eagerly. They were watched over by Zarya and Soldier 76: the latter of which had only agreed to judge the match on the basis of making sure 'you kids don't make yourselves sick, you hear me?', and Zarya who had just laughed and said it was 'healthy competition'.

The first out of the competition, predictably, was Tracer who leaned back with a groan and had turned a slight shade of green.

'I... I cant do it. Do you all have endless stomachs or something??'

Next was Lucio, who apologised profusely to Mei as she just laughed, chomping down on one of her own cakes.

5 minutes later, with a shameful tip of his hat, McCree grabbed his stomach and put his head on the table. Still eating but with victorious cheers from Hana and Sienna, it was now just the two of them.

'How do you fit so much food in such a tiny body, Hana?!' Sienna asked, stuffing yet more pancake into her mouth, but severely struggling now.   
Attempting a laugh but choking slightly, D.va only raised her hand into her trademark peace pose. 'I  _don't_  like losing'

Swallowing hard one last time, Sienna threw up her hands in defeat.   
'I give in! Hana, you're the winner, congrats' Sienna couldn't help but smile as the tiny girl jumped up in victory, and then immediately turned a similar shade of green as Tracer. She laughed, and then spoke in a slightly wobbly voice - 'GG, I told you all I would win. That was just eeeeeee-zeeee!'

There was a small pause as a sudden moaning sound resounded through the kitchen, and Hana suddenly bolted for the toilet with a hand over her mouth, and the small group burst out laughing.

McCree seemed to have recovered slightly as he stood up and leant on the back of Sienna's chair.   
'Judgin' by what's probably going on in the toilet,' murmured the cowboy, 'I think I'm gonna quietly proclaim Sienna the winner by default... but let's just keep that between ourselves. If Hana asks, she won'  
Winking at the group, McCree even managed to draw a chuckle out of Soldier 76 as he turned his back to leave.

'You've got a hard schedule today, Sienna' he threw over his shoulder, 'I hope you're not feeling the same way as our D.va over there' he said, gesturing at the hunched over girl returning to the room, with one hand on her stomach but a victorious smile spread on her cheeks.

Laughing on the outside, but internally feeling extremely bloated, she waved back nonchalantly. 'I'll be just fine, you'll see.'

At that, McCree slapped Sienna on the back in congratulations and her whole body shuddered, pain rippling from the side of her wound. It stung like mad, and she couldn't quite fully mask her emotions as she looked up at him - but either way, he didn't seem to notice.

'Atta girl! Though, good luck with Jack, you might need it'.   
His characteristic laugh filled the kitchen again, and it soon caught on with everyone else too. After a few minutes more of chatter, the group began to disperse to get to their own training and daily routines

Still feeling the after effects even when McCree and the rest had left the kitchen, the sudden quietness of the room put a dampener on Sienna's spirits. Feeling the smile slide off her face, she pressed one hand to her side, looking down. 

' _Maybe today won't be as easy as I thought it would be... how am I going to hide this from Jack?'_


	32. Chapter 32: Unravelled

It only took him 15 minutes to realise. She thought she had been clever, asking to do firearm accuracy training instead of their usual hand to hand combat practise - but Sienna should have known he would find out. He wasn't a leader for nothing, and the eagle eyed soldier had called her up on it immediately. 

'Show me.'

'Jack, it's okay, it's really nothing, you don't need-'

'Sienna.' He repeated sternly, arms crossed in front of her, weapons discarded to the side and training completely forgotten about. 'This is not about what I need. This is about your safety. Now  _show me_.'

Terrified that he would recognise how the wound was inflicted, she shied away as he took another step forward, arm outstretched. Turning, she waved away his concerns.

'I'll head to the infirmary, Mercy will be around, I'll get it patched up and we'll be fine!' Her nervous laugh betrayed her though, and she could feel the soldier's eyes boring into her back. He didn't make a move towards her, but even so the air swelled with pressure.

_Mercy will recognise the wounds just as easily as Jack will, you idiot. What have you done?_

Jack Morrison said nothing, but her feet got heavier with every step she took away until she stopped dead still, facing the exit.   
Head hung low, Sienna could already see the terrible chain of events unfolding in her head as she heard him make his way over to her.

Shrugging off her jacket, she couldn't bear to look at him as he lifted up the edge of her shirt and peeled away the bandages. Wincing slightly, she knew exactly when he removed the last layer as the sound of his sharp inhalation broke the still air. His hands dropped the bandages to the floor, but they might as well have tied the noose around her neck.

_He knows._

Bracing herself for the pain of her betrayal, the anger she knew she deserved for her secrets and lies, she pressed ear eyes tight shut, refusing to let her own emotions out this time, ready to accept whatever happened next. But not this.

'I'm sorry.' 

Sienna's dark eyes snapped open immediately, as Jack had turned his head away, but gently placed a hand on her shoulder.  _He's comforting... me?_

'I couldn't even keep you safe here.'

He was so quiet, and she had never seen him like this; it crushed a part of her into a million pieces, each one stabbing into her heart like the broken trust of every member of Overwatch who she had lied to.

Unable to keep herself back, Sienna threw her arms around him, pulling the surprised man into a close hug. He stiffened up at first, but as she pressed her face into his shoulder, he slowly lifted his arm and put it around her. For a moment, nothing was okay, but Sienna felt everything that had been so pent up suddenly spring away, opening the latch.

'It's my fault, Jack. I lied to you all. He was here and I said nothing. I... I... I  _led_  him here.'   
Choking on tears that she refused to admit to, Sienna gently leaned away from him and took a deep breath, hardening her resolve. When her voice came out next, it sounded almost emotionless, interrupted only by the slight shakiness of her words.

'I betrayed you. All of you. Last night... last night he came to me.' Once she has started, the truth only continued to flow.   
'It wasn't just yesterday, though. He's been here from the beginning. Reaper; he says he knows everything about this place, and I- I believe him.'

_A deep breath._

'He's here to get revenge, Jack. He's here to kill you.'  
  
  


There was a moment between them both as they watched each other, the silence building between them.  
And then he spoke, low and quiet, as if revealing a secret of his own.

'I know, Sienna.'

With a hefty sigh, the soldier leaned back on his haunches.

'I knew he had been here, but to what extent, I admit I didn't realise.' He paused for a moment, as of trying to figure out how to continue.

Looking her directly in the eye, he took a step closer again. 'This isn't what's important right now, though. Are you hurt anywhere else? What did that man - that monster - do you?

Seeing him get riled up talking about it, Sienna raised her hands to calm him.  
'No, no! It's okay! It's just this... And it was an accident. He didn't mean to-'

Cutting her off, Soldier 76 was stern but quick, as if agitated to tell her - like something could happen at any second now.   
'Nothing is ever an accident with that man, Sienna. Do not trust him. Do you understand me? He'd rip your heart out in a second if he felt like it.'

Sienna shivered a little at the accuracy of his words.   
He had meant them in a more...  _Literal sense,_ she realised, butshe also knew that Reaper had the capabilities to break her heart in more than one way at this point.

_And with the way things are going now, I don't think it'll be long until this is all a huge mess._


	33. Bring Him Home

It had been a couple of days since...  _The incident,_ as Sienna had started to call it, and tensions had been high around the compound.

Although Soldier 76 had supposedly known about Reaper, along with Winston, the rest of the Overwatch team had been completely out of the loop. For some, it worried them, for others, they were outraged.

Sienna could only be grateful that they weren't placing the blame on her - but whether that was because they didn't know the full story or if they truly believed it wasn't her fault:  _Well, that's not something I want to find out,_ Sienna thought darkly to herself.

One of the more outspoken members was Torbjorn, and he had been furious;

'That traitorous murderer! How dare'he slink around this place like 'e owns it? We should track 'im down and bring him in right now, with the whole of Talon on top of that!'   
He ranted, waving his arms around him as he paced in front of Winston.

Zarya nodded in agreement, towering over the tiny man as she watched over from behind, arms crossed defiantly.  
'We can't let them continue like this.'

Winston said nothing, but looked very serious as the day went on.

Sienna hadn't been training publicly with anybody through the past couple of days, preferring to hide herself away from the limelight and 'give herself some time to heal'.

Only genji knew the real story as he swung round her room in a surprise visit to see how she was healing, only to find her throwing the golden daggers at a makeshift target from her window.

Sienna had fallen backwards into the room as Genji suddenly appeared behind her, eyes wide and arms flailing in her descent, wavy hair billowing in her face.

Finding the situation absolutely hilarious, Genji had caught her from hitting the floor, and then taken another couple of minutes just to laugh it out while Sienna willed her red cheeks to just  _calm down._

By the end of it, both of them were sat laughing on her bed as he patted her lightly on the back.

'I gave you those daggers for your dedication, but it seems even I underestimated you.' Genji chuckled, looking at her fondly.

'But,' he continued, slightly more seriously, 'shouldn't you be resting?' 

The ninja gestured to her bandaged side before returning to watch her dark eyes.

Staring deeply into his green visor, Sienna's heart beat slowed. The light heartedness of the situation seemed to move away, becoming more serious in the afternoon sunlight.

'I have to keep training. I can't let anything happen to anyone here. I need to be able to help. If I don't...'

There was a long pause before Sienna brought up the will to continue. Genji had done so much for her, it was heartbreaking. Every second longer she waited, the betrayal built up and up, crushing her from the inside out.

'It's my fault, Genji. He's here because... Because I let him follow me. If I hadn't pestered Jack all that time ago, if I had just made my own way, none of you would be in this situation right now, none of you...' Sienna choked on her words, but forced them out. 'None of you would be in danger. It is my duty.'

She felt like she had said it a million times now, but each time it ripped into her heart and squeezed it tight.  
Sienna didn't know what she expected his response to be, but as he stood up suddenly, she realised quickly she had no idea what was going through his mind.

'Then, if you feel that strongly, you must continue.'

Slack-jawed, Sienna just stared blankly as Genji picked up the daggers from the floor.

But instead of handing them back to her, he placed them on the bed and took her hand, pulling her up.

'But first,' Genji said softly, 'let's take you to see Mercy.'  
  


As it turned out, Mercy had indeed recognised the wounds instantly, struggling to keep a straight face as she unwrapped the bandages - but she soon became professional, cleaning the wound and preparing it.  
In true Genji fashion, he struck up friendly conversation to distract from the gruesome truth of their situation, and before long both girls were in good humour.

'Angela, you're a wonder with those hands of yours. Maybe you can hold mine with them later?'

Sienna caught Angela's slight blush before she laughed it off, smiled and pretended to bat at Genji with her free hand.

'Don't distract the doctor when she's working, Genji.' she winked at him, and Sienna almost face palmed at the obviousness of them both, but settled for watching their antics.

As she left Mercy's office with Genji, she couldn't help but point out the spring in his step and watch him act completely shocked.

'Oh Sienna, of course it's not like that.. Ahem, excuse me.' Genji blurted out, turning his face away from her momentarily - but as soon as he saw her grinning face staring up at him, he lightheartedly slapped her on the back and laughed.

The rest of the walk back was filled with easy chatter, but when they got back to her room, Genji waited long enough for Sienna to sense he wanted to ask something.

_Whatever he wants to ask, he deserves to know. He's helped me so much, I'd give him anything._

'Sienna... I don't mean to pry, and of course you don't have to answer if you don't want..' Genji stumbled over his words, clearly picking them up in the moment, not sure how to phrase it.

'But why is Reaper so interested in you? Is there, you know... Something between you?'

_Ahh, I knew someone would ask this eventually,_ Sienna thought to herself, accepting the inevitability.

'There's... There's not.' She sighed.

Genji's head tilted, knowing there was something else in her mind.

'He's a dangerous man, Sienna... But he didn't use to be. No matter what Jack says, he's in there somewhere.'

Placing one hand on her shoulder, through the green glare of the visor Genji's eyes looked deep into her own. 

'Bring him back, Sienna. Please.'

Turning away, Genji quietly disappeared down the corridors, leaving Sienna clutching her heart tightly in her hands. 


	34. Deadly Games

The metal tang of gunpowder floated in the air, and Reaper could taste it on his tongue as he walked out of the meeting room. Something red began to seep under the door frame.

Shaking in her boots, the assistant stood outside backed into the corner when Reaper slammed the door.

'You might want to call the janitor. Tell them that I don't take orders from arrogant lowlifes'

Nodding quickly, the girl scurried away down the hallways to convey his message.

Watching her half-run, he sighed, eyes following her long brown hair hanging loose down her back.Still stood outside the room long after she disappeared from sight, Reaper looked down.The blood on his claws had since been cleaned away, but the blood on his hands would always be there.

_When did it even begin_? He didn't remember anymore. This was the only way. This way made sense. This way...

The blood crawling out from under the door frame finally reached his feet, pulling him out from his trance. 

'Oh, mon amie! It seems you have blood on your shoes. What a nightmare.'   
With a sly smile, Widowmaker stood with her hips cocked, leaning against the wall ahead of him.

'Can I help you, Spider?' Reaper snarled, stalking towards her.

Her eyes followed him intensely with each step, and continued watching as he passed her down the corridor.

'Not particularly... I was just curious whether you had a fun night with your pretty little girlfriend. I can think of a few people who would be  _furious_ if they knew what you've been up to..' Widowmaker played with her nails as she spoke, the words sounding nonchalant but sharp in his ears. 

Stopping the deep growl that threatened to rip from his throat, Reaper composed himself.

'Feel free to tell the dead body on the floor behind me. I don't think many people will want to get angry with me any more.' He spat out at her, continuing to walk away.

Bristling slightly, Widowmaker leaned of the wall and glared at Reaper's back as he didn't miss a step.

'You might live to regret that, friend.' She called after him, one final chance to play with her toy she had grown so fond of.

But the answer was flat and cold, not full of the easy irritation and rage she was so used to.  
'I'm already dead.'

He was slipping from her grasp; and her cold, still heart felt a pang of something. Something she didn't remember any more. And she didn't like it.

The image of that girl she had seen Reaper with seared through her mind.

**_It's all her fault._ **

Standing up tall, Widowmaker adjusted her rifle on her back. It was getting dark now, but tomorrow she would end this all. A rare smile pulled her lips at the thought, and the assassin could almost  _feel_ the ghost of exhilaration at the thought of a clean, hard kill. Basking in the rare feeling, a thought struck her suddenly and her stunning golden eyes lit up, pushing her hair back over her ears.

_What better a way to punish my toy than to make him watch as I take his away?_

_I wonder if he'll cry?_

_I wonder... If it'll make me feel like I used to?_

Almost too eager for tomorrow to come, Widowmaker stalked down the corridors into the darkness again, almost lighting up the shadows with her glow of excitement.  
  


///  
  


Sombra had been too easy to convince, Widow realised the next morning. That girl really was too much of a prankster for her own good.

'It's weird though,' the hacker announced, half talking to herself as Widowmaker prepared her bullets, 'He wears that mask even in his sleep. I'm almost disappointed I didn't get to stick that note directly to his forehead.'

Throwing a cold look at the younger girl, the blue assassin silently shook her head and asked herself why she even associated herself with such  _children._

_'_ That is probably exactly why he doesn't take the mask off,  _Sombra.'_

Widow's French accent was particularly piercing as she got ready. She wasn't nervous, she didn't feel that anymore, but there was some hesitation lingering in her fingertips with each bullet loaded.

Already bored with the sniper's bland answers, Sombra slunk off to play tricks on somebody else.

'I'll pass on coming with you. I don't fancy being killed by Reaper when it's all over. I quite like all the new tech they like to give me here.'

Met with only silence, Sombra rolled her eyes.   
'I'm going back to bed. This is too early for me'

Yawning, Sombra's frame began to pixelate as she turned invisible, giving a quick wave to Widowmaker before she blurred out of vision.

//

The note was instantly crumpled in Reaper's leather claws as soon as he woke up. Shadows writhed around his huge frame as he shook in fury.

This was all just another own of that bitch's _games,_ wasn't it? Another stab at him to elicit his anger, and give her a hit of that sick satisfaction she craved so badly.

Reaper shuddered.

He'd have a head start though. It was 6am, two hours earlier than his usual time to get up. This wasn't over yet.

In his heart, though, it was already over. He'd had enough with her.  _This was it_.   
But for now, he had one thing more important to do. Letting the note drop from his claws as they disintegrated, the shadows pulled at his form until it completely disappeared from the room - only one thing on his mind.

**_Sienna._ **


	35. Worth A Shot

It took the huge, leather clad man only half a second to determine that Sienna wasn't in her room. But for that half a second, a feeling like hot lightning crawled under his skin before it melted away at his own realisation.

_She gets up early to train._

Shaking himself off, he thumped himself in the chest, ignoring the painful feeling in his lungs.  
He had never teleported so far in one go before, and it was not a pleasant sensation, to say the least.

His body was pulling at him not to shadow jump again, to give himself a break, but Reaper couldn't wait that long. The clock was ticking.

The force that own his heart pulled him with far outweighed the strength of the shadows, and the dark assassin disappeared again.  
  


And again.

And again.  
  


With each passing second, Reaper's body screamed at him to stop, shadows ripping into his skin with impossibly sharp, silken edges, cutting him a million times more.

Rooms flew by in a blur, time passing even quicker; through empty rooms and not so empty rooms, until he stopped.

Landing heavily, dark matter oozed from under his mask like a cloud of smoke and ash, rising from his skin like he was being burned alive.

_Is she even still alive? Is there any point in this? You're too late_

Reaper couldnt help but hear the thoughts burrowing through his skull, gnawing away at his drive, burying his thoughts.

But even through it all, the pain was real. The pain inside, bringing him back up to the surface.

_Is this what it feels like without her?_

Angered by his own thoughts, the man let out a roar, drawing energy from a reserve he didn't know he had. His voice was hoarse, ripped and quiet, and it only for him to hear.

'I don't want to find out.'

Forcing himself to raise his head and look through the darkening fog, Reaper's white bone mask saw straight through to two faces: one omnic and one cigar-chewing cowboy. 

The cigar hit the ground, crumbling slightly at the impact. 

Reaper's voice was hoarse and torn, but he forced the words out.  
'Where is she?'

'G... Gabe?'  
The shock on McCree's face quickly melted away and the cowboy stepped forward, instantly picking up his Overwatch persona.

'You know I can't let you go any further, Reaper. You're the enemy here, much as I hate that.'  
McCree's accented voice rang across the space between them. His words gave away little of their history, but his lidded eyes betrayed his sadness.

Reaper suppressed a deep-rooted growl.  _I don't need this distraction right now._

_'_ You don't understand! Where is Sienna? I don't have time for this.' Irritation plucked at his skin and he took a step forward, intending to leave them.

'I can't let you do that, I'm afraid.' Raising his pistol, McCree stood directly infront of Reaper, eyeing the huge black shotguns - still holstered.

Less than a second passed before Zenyatta raised his arm in front of McCree, lowering the American's weapon with strong metal hands.

_'_ Sienna is in the kitchen.'

Reaper was gone in an instant, black smoke the only proof of his existence not being a figment of their imagination.

Immediately, McCree turned to Zenyatta with anger in his eyes, opening his mouth to shout at the omnic.  
But before he even said a word, the realisation struck him hard, and the anger was wiped from his face.

'Zen...' Horror painted his face anew as he began to understand the situation.

'Sienna... She's in danger?' He mumbled, confusion tinting his voice

Zenyatta had been two steps ahead of the game, as always.

Jumping into the game, the omnic had to hold McCree back from sprinting to the kitchen, fear spreading across his features like poison through his veins.

'Reaper will be able to hold off whatever the danger is for now. We must find Soldier 76 first.'

While Zenyatta seemed calm and collected, McCree was the opposite as he tipped his hat down over his eyes, hiding them.  _Of course Zen was right. There he had been, probably about to screw up everything._

'The danger must be great for Reaper himself to come; we must hurry, Jesse.'

Although the omnic's voice was robotic,  the feel of urgency and worry was unmistakable, and Jesse didn't miss it.

'We'll save her, Zen. I know where Jack is, come on!'

.

//

.

Mei had left some American style pancakes on the kitchen-top this morning, but whether it was a joke or not, Sienna's stomach heaved at the thought of eating one ever again.

Popping two slices of bread in the toaster, Sienna swept her hair off her neck, wiping her sweat off with a towel.

_Even only half an hour of cardio before breakfast really works up my appetite_ , Sienna thought as her stomach let out a growl, patting it to calm it down.

One hand on her stomach, she trailed off into thought, fingers sliding to her side, ghosting over the remains of her injury. The bandages were all gone now; all that was left were some dark bruises and Sienna's memories of that night.

A sudden shiver ran down her spine, and Sienna shook it off... But walking back over to the toaster it returned, colder now, pulling up goosebumps on her skin. About to pass it off for the second time, the brunette stopped as a tiny flash of silver caught her eye in the reflection of the toaster.

Something up in the scaffolding, hidden in the tall dark ceiling of the original warehouse construction.

Sienna was slow to kick into action, but her old instincts came flowing back into her. Something was telling her she was in danger. Immediate danger.

'I survived on my instincts alone before I came to overwatch, and I sure as hell am not going to dismiss them now.' Sienna murmured under her breath, slowly continuing what she was doing, adrenaline pumping into her veins.

And there it was again. This time unmistakable, a flash of metal, shifting in the dark above.

**_Gunmetal._ **

Understanding the importance of keeping up her ignorant pretence, she continued normally, walking around the center worktop and ducking down out of vision.

_It's got to be Widowmaker. But then... Where's Reaper?_

Brain whirring away, Sienna opened the cupboard, pulling random kitchen equipment out and putting them on the worktop, buying herself time in her safe spot.

If that really was Widowmaker, why was she not dead already?   
_Am I not the target? Is she... waiting for something?_

Sienna didn't want to find out.

Throwing a hand down into her shoe, she pulled out one sheathed dagger, and reached behind her waist to pull out the other.  
Her aim may have been improving, but she couldn't make a move without being shot dead instantly. That, Sienna definitely knew.

Even if she wasn't the target, she couldn't stand by and watch one of her teammates, her  _friends_ , be killed - no matter who it was. She owed them this, at the least. 

It was worth a shot.

All she needed was a distraction, but that didn't seem likely. Holding both the daggers in her hands out of sight, she stood up, looking for the sniper in her peripheral vision. Widow had a clear shot, aiming directly at her already. If she was the target, she would take it now.

_It's now or now or never, distraction or not._

And a distraction it definitely was.

With a deafening crack, the leather clad assassin landed heavily in the room, shattering the tiles underneath him, sending white shards scattering across the floor in all directions. Forcing herself to look away from the man, Sienna realised this was her chance. Widow's head turned a fraction of an inch to watch the spectacle of Reaper below, and Sienna's arm whipped out.

The dagger was nothing more than a gold blur, faster than she'd ever thrown before, but even as it flew through the air, she realised she hadn't been quick enough.

Widow's golden eyes pierced hers through the dark, recognisable even at the distance.

Skimming Widow's face by an inch, the single dagger sliced through her hair, pinning it to the ceiling behind her, jerking her aim - but not before the screaming explosion of the scoped rifle shot through the air.

She hadn't been quick enough.

Time slowed.

One shotgun aimed at Widow, and the other clawed hand outstretched to her; Reaper's huge frame looked tiny in the warehouse room as dark smoke curled around him.

Watching the bullet scream towards her, Widow's face furious, and the sound of the door slamming open to Soldier 76's visor down and gun cocked...

Sienna never thought she'd hear the sound of her own flesh ripping open.

The bullet hit, slicing through her neck and shoulder, wetness exploding on her cheek and chest.

_But here I am, I guess_


	36. The Hurricane

It didn't hurt, or at least Sienna didn't think it did. What happened again?

It was wet.

'Is is supposed to be wet?' Sienna asked herself, feeling her lips fail to move, watching Winston fall slowly, slowly through the air as he landed in front of her.

Staggering backwards, something hard collided with her back and suddenly all her strength was gone.

Gasping for air that became harder and harder to inhale, growing patches of black made their way across her vision, shifting and dancing as if in celebration.

Tears streamed down her face.

_Ah, that's why it's wet._

An eternity passed, before smoke pricked at her eyes, and Sienna began to move. Or rather, her body did.

A leather-clad hand pressed against her neck, and pain broke through the thick haze of her mind. Unable to scream, Sienna's eyes clenched shut, paralysed.

The world span, nothing making sense but the flashing colours and blurred faces in and out of the dark.

Something was shaking her, and squeezing her tightly, but all that got through was a muffled cacophony of thumps... And a dark, pulsing haze that creeped further and further into her vision with every heartbeat as her eyes opened slightly.

She could see white - a mask? - above her, billowing smoke, dark smoke. It was... Chipped? The cracks in the white smooth surface that leaked darkness were all Sienna could focus on, as it... he?... moved closer and closer to her, her body being squeezed tightly.

Suddenly, it wasn't dark anymore. It was bright, bright white, as the bone mask pressed softly against her forehead.

It took all her strength, but something was driving her to move closer.   
So lightly that Sienna couldn't even feel it herself, her fingertips touched the side of the mask's face for a moment, before painting it red as her arm lost strength and fell limp to her side.

_This is it, is it? The end?_

Sienna could feel something tugging her.   
Time was slow, but all she could think was

_How disappointing_   
  
  


//

They hadn't been quick enough. By the time Winston landed, shield up and red fury raging inside him, the bullet ripped through her skin, missing her head by inches.

It was a horrific sight, and for a moment even Winston stopped; halted by the sight of Sienna's wide eyes, crimson blood dripping splattered across her face, stumbling backward.

Ripping out the golden dagger pinning her hair, Widowmaker's furious eyes were gone in a split second, darkness covering her escape. Genji was there instantly, darting through the rafters and disappearing after her -

But none of that mattered as Reaper caught Sienna's body in his arms, cradling her with one hand underneath her soft, limp body, seeing more blood than he knew a human even possessed.

And it terrified him.

The man he had wanted to kill for years stood defenceless, facing away from him, an open and easy target - but as he pressed his hand against Sienna's open wound, stemming the endless flow of crimson blood, he didn't care.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

She was just  _bait._

She existed in his life only to draw in the man he wanted to kill. The man in front of him.

She didn't mean anything to him... but she meant everything.  
  


More than any stupid kill. More than his own life, surrounded by his enemies, having betrayed his only allies.

His muscles were taught, twitching as adrenaline screamed through his veins, sparking embers of a fire inside him that had been asleep for far, far too long. Forcing himself to slow down, to  _calm himself_ , Reaper closed his eyes tightly. The darkness they saw was comforting, but even more comforting was the frantic yet strong beating of Sienna's heart, pulsing against his hand on her shoulder and neck.

Pressing more tightly against her skin, Reaper looked down at her pale face, desperate to feel her strong heartbeat despite her quickly paling skin.

Gunshots echoed in the rafters, the barking commands of a soldier, the roars of a furious beast, the tiny  _drip, drip_  of Sienna's blood on the floor; it was all there. But above all, her breathing, beginning to slow and stagger.

'No. No. This is not happening.'

Reaper's eyes were open instantly, hands frantically darting over her, losing her pulse for a second as inexplicable terror ripped through him.

'You are not leaving me today, Girl. I..'

Reaper's voice was restrained; the sound of a heart watching itself be crushed into a million pieces.

'I...I can't...'

Unable to force the words out, Reaper leaned forward slowly, carefully touching his forehead to her own. Feeling her shake in his arms, something built up inside the man. His mask was only a centimetre thick, but at that moment, he didn't want anything else other than to feel her skin against his, free and warm.

People were getting closer, but all he could see was her, that girl, the pawn in his plan, the one who patched him up day after day, the one who truly saw something better in him... the one who didn't mean anything to him.

'What  _ **bullshit**_.'

Shaking in agony, Reaper pulled her tighter into him, as something ghosted over the side of his face. Lifting his head from hers, a pair of dark, pained eyes saw straight through to his, touching his very soul, exploding the fire inside him to life.

Burning from the inside out, he caught her hand as it slid from his cheek, his own hidden eyes widening as hers fell shut. Her trembling body shook harder, as Reaper realised it was his own arms, wracked with exhaustion, shuddering at the sight held in his hands.

Legs suddenly giving way, the shadowed monster dropped to one knee, shattering the tiles below him - but none of the Overwatch team would forget the horrific howl, stricken with grief and anger that ripped like a hurricane through each and every body in the room.

 

Shadows pulsed around the pair, spiking in angry daggers as Reaper's huge frame kneeled over her body, one hand cupping the back of her head, lying in her own blood. Every second that passed felt like a thousand, every drop of her blood that fell to the floor looked like a gallon.

With every moment, the darkness became indefinitely bigger, cleaving the air like blades, ready to consume them both. And Reaper would let it.

But someone stood in front of him. Looking up slowly, feeling every individual muscle pulling against him, the light was almost blinding, golden and clear. He knew her, didn't he?

Her lips moved fast, but her voice was lost in the vacuum between them.

Hollow and cold, Reaper felt nothing anymore. 'Why stop it? Why bother at all?' he murmured, staring emptily towards her as she moved closer, light enveloping him, pushing back at the darkness like a shield to the dragon's fiery breath.

The white light cut through the slow silence, as Reaper watched the woman's hands touch Sienna's wounds.

Then, as sudden as it had disappeared, it was back. 

 

'-alive, Gabriel. Can you hear me? Gabriel? Gabriel! She's alive. She's alive.'

 

Her heartbeat.

 


	37. Never Too Late

She was alive, but only just. Bleeding out profusely, Mercy leapt to work instantly, focusing on stemming the blood flow. The crimson pool on the floor was widening by the second, and with every  _drip, drip, drip_ of blood that fell, Reaper sank deeper and deeper into the darkness.

The shadowed monster had refused to let her go, forcing Mercy to do her work with Sienna in his arms. He never looked away, silent and terrifying as black smoke billowed from his frame. Kneeling on the floor, his eyes traced her paling face, piercing through his cracked mask.

As Soldier 76 watched on, his gaze may have been hidden by the visor, but his clenched hands shook as he stood upright. It was like a knife had been driven through his heart, but all he could do was stare until Tracer grabbed at his sleeve, terror strewn across her face, bringing him back to life.

Instantly back in the moment, he span round and barked out commands, expertly managing his team until no one was left standing still.

The rest of the Overwatch team were to give them some space, instead focusing on finding out how Widowmaker had gotten in, and tracking her down before she could get too far. Jack Morrison refused to let fear corrupt his team. This was a major incident, and the facility and all its inhabitants were in full lock-down mode.

'If two Talon members can cause this much damage, then their entire corporation will destroy us... Find Widowmaker, and bring her in.' The soldier commanded, his voice unwavering.

Truly distanced from his emotions, this was why they chose him to be their leader. He would get them through this, and he would bring Sienna safely out to the other side - no matter what it took.   
  


 

//

 

 

'Ughhh... Someone.. Someone turn the light off.' Sienna sleepily moaned, shifting her arm up above her eyes. It was blindingly bright, white and sterile.

_How long has she been sleeping_?

Keeping her eyes closed, Sienna lifted her head, but instantly dropped it again as pain burst across her chest like a gunshot wound.

Lightly touching her neck with her other hand, the bandages were piled high.

Unable to open her eyes in the light after being in the dark so long, Sienna's mind whirred, panicked at the feeling of the cotton under her fingertips.

_Oh god. That was it, wasnt it?_ _The gunshot._ _That happened. I'm not..._

Silently remembering, recalling the events, she breathed deeply. Taking her time, Sienna opened her eyes, squinting at her surroundings.

A hospital room. A hospital bed. She'd never been in one of them before, but she'd visited Mercy on occasion.

Gritting her teeth at the pain, Sienna used her good arm to prop herself up, straining against her screaming muscles. It took so much effort that she breathed heavily, barely noticing as the door opened and a blonde woman walked in.

Abruptly stopping, Mercy seemed to be in a flurry as she flew to Sienna's side, one hand pressed lightly on her back, the other supporting her arm.   
Looking up at her, Sienna couldn't make out anything that she was saying.

Something was ringing loudly in her ears, making her dizzy, making her feel--

-Throwing herself to the side, she was just quick enough to avoid being sick all over the bed, instead hitting the conveniently placed bin. The ringing subsided as Angela lifted her back up and softly lying her down again.

'It hurts, Mercy.'

Her blue eyes were stunning, worried -  _was she really worried for her_? - but calm and collected. Sienna couldn't focus on anything, let alone how perfectly suited for her job Mercy was.

'You'll be okay, Sienna. Reyes and Jack made sure of that' She joked with a wink, quickly concealing her emotions and looking down at her clipboard notes.

Forcing her voice to come out strongly, Sienna spoke up. It was time she heard some harsh truth. 

'Mercy.... How long have I been here for?'

For a moment, Mercy said nothing, but she wasn't done with her questions.

'Where is Reaper? What happened to Widowmaker? Is everyone else okay? How did-'

With a slightly nervous laugh, Mercy cut her off.

'Hey, calm down. You need rest, this isn't important for now.' The medic's started, but seemed to realise Sienna wouldn't let it all go so easily.

Sighing, she continued. 'It's not so simple, you know.' Looking out of the window behind the bed, Mercy's brow furrowed.

'I've been treating you for a week. I put you into a coma on the first day so you wouldn't die straight away, and I hadn't planned to take you out until you were fully healed.'

The angelic blonde let out a long breath and looked away, almost as if ashamed of herself.

'We were also going to wait until we had... Figured some things out.'

Instantly suspicious, Sienna's guard went up.   
'What does that mean, then?' She snapped unwittingly, desperate to hear an explanation.

'Sienna. This isn't about you. Jack trusts you explicitly, and if he does then... Well, then so do I. But we don't know what Reaper could have done to you while he had you captive.'

Instantly ready to defend herself, Sienna tried to speak but was instantly cut off by a stern glance from Mercy.

_She can be scary when she wants to be..._ Floated through Sienna's mind as she backed down instantly.

_'_ We know what happened to Widowmaker at Talon. We all want to believe that's not what has happened to you, but how else would both Widowmaker and Reaper have been able to get in here undetected?'

Mercy began to get agitated, striding next to her bed, her stress clearly evident.

'Only a couple weeks ago Reaper ripped your side open like a hot knife through butter. That's how easy it is for him, Sienna... We trusted you when you first got here, but not everyone thinks that was such a good idea any more. But as for Reaper, it's obvious that he... He cares for you.'

There was a pause, and Sienna's head was spinning, her mind whirring at a million miles an hour.

'Whatever happened back there... We think he tried to save you. He wasn't there to hurt us. What that means, we don't know yet.'   
Shaking her head lightly, Mercy halted her pacing and looked down into Sienna's eyes, the medic's clear blue irises piercing through her defences.

Eyes welling up, Sienna blinked away her emotions.

'He's a good person, Mercy.'

For a moment, Sienna kept her eyes locked to hers, willing her to believe; willing her to  _understand._

Suddenly dropping eye contact, Angela stepped professionally towards her, fixing the drip and bandages Sienna had moved, before turning away and walking towards to door quietly.

One hand outstretched and her mouth hung open, Sienna could only see the doctor's coat sway as she left, shaking her head. But as the door opened and she began to leave, Sienna could have sworn she heard a tiny sigh from the blonde angel....  
... followed by: 'I know. I  _know he is.'_

Letting her head fall back into the pillow, all Sienna could feel was the stinging burn of her shoulder, and the ghost sensations of large, warm arms around her, holding her closer and closer.   
She didn't want to relive that moment, but somehow she did.

_Will I ever be as close to him as I was then?_  
The thought was the last thing that passed through her brain before she let sleep take her again, feeling comfort in the darkness that she once feared so long, long ago.


	38. Three Words, Sienna

'Hey, Little Girl. Seems like you didn't die after all.'

Sienna would have known that voice anywhere. Instantly wide awake, Sienna struggled against her body's sluggish movements, forcing her eyes open.   
Blinded immediately by the bright white lights, she cursed herself for doing the same thing twice.

'R-reaper? Is that- Is that you?' Sienna pressed her hands to her eyes, desperate for them to adjust so she could see for herself.

There was a pause that seemed to last for an eternity as she waited for confirmation, silence upon silence, before the man huffed slightly.

'Yeah. It's me.'

His voice was low and gravelly, tinged with something else - was that... Embarrassment? It had been so long since she had spent proper time with him, but ghosting memories of their close time together pulled her thoughts together.

Taking her hands off her face, a leather gloved hand pressed them back softly, gingerly, as if afraid of touching her.

'Keep your eyes closed. It's okay.' Reaper almost whispered, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

Struggling for words, Sienna's mouth hung open, only to be interrupted in thought.

'I need to tell you. I'm sorry. I put you here.'

A weight pressed into the mattress as Reaper took a seat on the edge of her bed, and Sienna felt herself slide slightly towards him.

A mess of fire and ice flooded through her adrenaline-fuelled body and she tensed up. More than anything, one emotion dominated - how  _dare_ he say that? It pricked under her skin like thousands of knives, each determined to get a rise out of her: and each of them succeeding. The only thing holding her back was the slight touch of  his hand over her eyes, resting carefully on her skin.

'You... You have no right to say that.'

Sienna could feel his shock through his hand as it flinched against her. Feeling power from his reaction, it spurred her on to continue, her closed eyes seeing red.

'You show up in my life, and take everything I was, everything I have and give me everything I ever wanted... And  _you_... you  ** _r_** _ **ip it all away**_ when you leave.'   
Somewhere between her words, tears began to stream beneath his hands, but she couldn't stop. With every word her anger grew, but the more she spoke the more the hole in her shoulder seemed to move down to her heart, widening like a void inside her.

'And now.. Now? You think an apology matters? You think I want that from you? No.  **No**.'

Sienna's chest heaved, pain sparking up in her shoulder with the exertion, but Reaper was silent, just an unspoken weight resting on her bed.

'If your aim was to play with me, then  _congratulations._ I'm-... I'm done, Reaper.' Ignoring the tears flowing freely now, Sienna lifted a hand to her eyes, her breathing ragged and exhausted.

'Stop hiding from me. Tell me what the truth is, Reaper. Tell me to my face.' She cried one last time, raw and empty.  _There's nothing left to lose now, I guess._

Reaching up, Sienna clasped his hand in her own, tugging it away from her eyes, but Reaper abruptly stopped her. 

'..Don't. Please.'

Stunned out of her stupor, Sienna had nothing to say. Her hand gripped his tighter. Nothing would compare the crack in his words; the sound of a man struggling to hold it all together, breaking apart in the same way she felt her heart was right now.

_She couldn't help it_ , she told herself, the tiny weight of his command collapsing under his heartbreaking voice.  _I have to see him. I need to._

 

Was it the right choice? She didn't know, but there was no anger in his bared eyes as she caught them in her own. He was cracked, like a shattered porcelain mask - except this time, there was no white mask covering his face. 

Long, branching fractures ripped his cocoa skin, like trenches in the Atlantic, like wounds that never healed, dark matter escaping out like noxious gas. Black smoke coated his angled features like a cold frosting, swirling with every breath.

Her anger melted away instantly, the hot fire insider her instantly quenched by something cold and horrible. His gaze didn't falter, but Sienna instead traced the rifts with her eyes, delaying the suffering she knew his eyes held. It only took a second before finally, his head dipped, spine weakening as he gave into the shame, the anger, the frustration.

'This... This is my punishment. I couldn't find you in time. I-.' 

Sienna didn't understand why, but her hands lifted up slowly either side of his face - softly, so lightly she could barely feel a thing, her fingertips traced along his skin... Had she done this before? What was this... feeling?

Instantly, Reyes looked up, shock tainting his torn features. Staring back at him wasn't the bloodied girl, limp in his arms, touching him as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Staring back was a strong woman, sharing his suffering and yet...  _accepting_ it? Refusing to believe anything, he held her gaze, watching her suffering melding with his own.

Two pairs of endlessly dark eyes didn't leave each other for a long time, as a silent conversation stretched out between them, the billowing dark smoke creating their own private cocoon. Gradually, Reaper leant forward, letting Sienna press her hands into his skin, cupping his cheek in her palm.

 Seeing her struggle to sit up, the assassin moved closer still, holding her heart in his eyes as he inched intimately nearer.

Everything was happening in a heartbeat, but Sienna felt her heart beat so slowly that it might as well have been an eternity. She could smell their breath mingling, and the warming heat from his chest as he leant over her, closer than they had ever been before. The nearer he got, the more the void inside her seemed to close, and Sienna knew why. 

She had known for a long time. Was this an answer from him? Was this what she had hoped, or just a useless chase, doomed to fail as soon as-

Closing her eyes tightly, Sienna looked down. Down, away from him. Away from it all.

'Reaper, I can't... I-mmhh!'

His hand was rough but inexplicably soft as he tilted her chin up suddenly, his lips pressed against hers. It was bitter and salty from her tear-stained skin, but it was warm - and it was...  _home._

Feeling her relax, Reyes deepened the kiss, and Sienna couldn't help her hand from snaking past his cheek to pull him in closer to her, curling her fingers in his hair like she had dreamt about on... well, more than a few occasions.

 

When she finally pulled away for a breath, their foreheads rested against each other, breathing heavily.

Whatever embarrassment she expected in his next words didn't come out. Instead, weary and honest conviction painted his confession.

'I love you, Sienna.'


	39. Find Yourself

The next couple of days passed in a blur.  
Most overwatch members came to visit her, but Zenyatta, Zarya, Genji and McCree had been all but tearful to see her alive and well.

Well, Sienna recalled, I had to hold back my own tears at Zarya's playful punch to the shoulder.  
Rubbing the friendly bruise at the memory, she was just thankful it hadn't been her injured shoulder.

Genji and McCree had come to visit together, bringing her a tasteful souvenir from her misadventures: the scarred golden dagger she had pinned Widowmaker to the scaffolding with - now embellished with the black rope that had tied the Talon assassin's hair back: like a hunting trophy.

'The rope was my idea. How'dyou like it, darlin'? Genji thought it was tacky, but I disagreed.'

McCree's southern drawl tickled Sienna's ears, and she couldn't help but laugh, watching Genji's clear disapproval.  
The cyborg put a hand lightly on her head, and she could feel the warm smile under the mask - she had gotten good at guessing his emotions by now.

Ignoring the cowboy's comment, Genji spoke up.  
'We are all very glad you are okay, Sienna.' He said softly, messing her hair up slightly, like an older brother teasing a sibling.

'Yeah,' McCree followed up, 'this place ain't been the same since you've been out of action. Glad to have ya back.'

Sitting up, Sienna couldn't help the grin that stretched between her flushed cheeks. It was true, even Mercy had been surprised at how well she had healed over the past few days, but she had given the green light to resume small training sessions again.

Hesistating slightly, Sienna's cheeks flushed. She couldn't help but ask a question that had been burning her up since they entered, flaming her skin in very visible ways. It had only been a couple of days since her last... 'Visit' of sorts, but despite being in and out of sleep and resting, she knew nobody had been to see her.

'Where... Where's Reaper?'

Surprise painted both McCree and Genji's faces as they turned to share an incomprehensible look with each other.

A silence stained the room for a moment before McCree lost the invisible coin toss between them.

'Well, uh, that's a difficult question, darlin'. He's still here, but honestly, I don't know too much.'

Sienna's wide eyes clearly weren't a good sign as the cowboy scrambled to say more.

'Uh, Jack knows more about it. He spoke to him, seems to have come to some kind of agreement.'  
Sighing, Jesse ran his hands through his hair as if giving up.

'If you ask me, he wasn't here to hurt us. I saw it all. He was here to protect you. And if he's the Gabriel Reyes that he used to be... I trust him.'

Watching the cowboy's dark eyes, Sienna saw only honesty in them, albeit something resentful in their history.

Genji broke his quiet spell, speaking his mind and sharing in the discussion.  
'If I may, I have observed him over the past few days. Whatever choice he has made, he is not conflicted. He has made up his mind - I just hope it is for us, and not against us.'

The trio shared a small dark chuckle before the room warmed up again, moving away from the topic. Regretfully, Sienna commented silently.

'Thank you guys for coming... For believing in me. It can't have been easy to forgive me, to forgive my betrayal.'

'There is nothing to forgive, Sienna.'

'He's right, kid. We all trusted you. I guess ya should have trusted us all a bit more, but in the end, you're alive and that's what matters.'

Not gonna cry, definitely not gonna cry.

Unable to help herself, the brunette grabbed the two boys by the arms and pulled them into a strange hug over the bed, but they quickly leaned into it and pulled her close.

'You did well, Sienna. Your throw was impeccable.' Genji's whispered into her ear, his robotic accent piercing his words, but not as much as the pride that seeped through as her mentor and sensei.

Giving her another quick squeeze, they both stood up and brushed themselves down, regaining their composure, before letting out peals of laughter again at each other.

'You're lucky Mercy forbid Zarya to train you for a bit, Sienna'  
McCree joked as he picked up his hat. 'She was telling me about all the sessions she had planned for ya both - and let me tell you, I think I personally would've died in the first hour, y'know what I mean?'

'That may be true McCree,' Genji chuckled, 'But don't think I'm going any easier on you Sienna. You have proved how good your throw is, so I expect to see you - ah, how about it, bright and early tomorrow!'

Waving goodbye to the chattering heroes, Sienna couldn't help but feel warm inside, like a heated blanket was wrapped around her chest - but there was one part of her the warmth couldn't quite reach.

A niggling feeling in her heart and lungs, sending prickles over her skin. She needed to know more.

Reaper has decided something, that much is clear. Why hasn't he come back?

A possible realisation dawned on her as the thought pierced her mind.  
'Is... Is he going back to Talon?' Sienna questioned out loud, her voice quiet even to her own ears in the empty hospital room.  
'But what about us? What about all that we've been through... All that happened yesterday... Don't tell me he's leaving after all this.'

Instantly hauling herself off the bed, limbs twinging with echoes of newly healed pain, Sienna focussed her attention to finding Jack; and from Jack she could find Reaper.

Pulling her night gown closer around her form, she approached the door to leave. It wasn't hard to get out: excluding Mercy, none of her visitors had ever made much of an effort to conceal the pin - after all, she did live here.

She wasn't doing anything bad by doing this, Sienna told herself, she was just... Checking out of hospital early. I was due to be out tonight anyway, it's no big deal.

But seeing herself sneak through the corridors of the compound, Sienna couldn't help but feel like a foreign body in her own home.

The feeling only intensifies as the corridors grew unfamiliar - Sienna had never known the medical wing well, but none of this even rang a bell in her mind. Turning a corner, a trail of dark, muddy footsteps littered the way forward.

Well, that's a sign if I ever did see one.

The way became instantly more familiar, and she could hear herself getting closer and closer to the sounds of a heated argument.

The voices snarled at each other, indistinguishable but clearly getting nowhere in their debate.

Hurrying her footsteps, dark smoke curled from under a door on the right, and Sienna instantly knew she had found him. This should have been good, but the raising tone of the voices within certainly wasn't.


	40. Challenge Accepted

Ready to throw herself between Reaper and whoever he was arguing with, Sienna flung the door open, but her attempted fierce presence changed absolutely nothing in the room.

Jack's professional face was contorted with emotion as he argued his case, his words logical and orderly despite his clear opinion.  
On the other hand, the other arguing party was not quite what Sienna had expected. Instead of a huge, billowing cloud of smoke and rage, was a small, Swedish man on a chair, flames dancing at his back as he barked fiercely back at the soldier.

By complete contrast, sat comfortably by Jack's side and sipping quietly on a cup of hot something, was Reaper. He clearly didn't notice her either as she barged through the door, and Sienna spied a hidden amusement bouncing behind his innocent facade.

Halted to a complete stop, Sienna couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Torbjorn and Soldier 76 argue in front of her, while her lover and former Talon operative was drinking coffee like a man on holiday.

'No, how do we know he was trying to protect her?' Torbjorn insisted, neither party giving Sienna any attention.

'For all we know this could be a part of his big plan to infiltrate! And here he is.' The dwarf grumbled, shooting suspicious eyes at the Talon member in question.

'You may not have been there to see it, but a lot of us were, Torbjorn. If you sit down to watch the recordings, you will see just how was reckless and suicidal for him to attempt what he did.'  
Jack gestured to the man sat a little too comfortably next to him.

'There is no mistaking the reasons behind what he attempted, nor any other reason for what happened after. He has had ample chance to kill us all, and yet here we are.'

Torbjorn grumbled something under his breath, but seemed to be accepting of Jack's words at last. Turning to hop off the chair, both men noticed Sienna at last.  
'Speaking of, here's the second culprit!' Torbjorn mocked, but as he left towards the door, he looked her in the eyes sincerely.  
'I'm glad you're okay, Sienna.' He paused, before muttering under his breath 'Can't say the same for him, though'.

Silence drifted through the room for a moment after the mechanic left, letting Sienna attempt to digest everything.

It wasn't working.

Feeling more sick and confused than ever, the brunette simply stood, still in her hospital dressing gown, and waited for someone to explain.

And explain they did. At the same time, both Reaper and Soldier 76 spoke to her, cutting over each other's words until they stopped in synchronisation, glaring at each other.

Taking the minute opportunity, Reaper spoke up quickly.

'I'm leaving Talon to rejoin Overwatch'.

Sienna's eyes widened as she took in the unexpected information.  
'You-... You're what?'

Before she could get very far on that thought, Jack pushed Reaper's shoulder.  
'That's not yet decided. Hell, Reyes! All we were discussing is you staying here. Don't make leaps before you've even taken a step. It's not that easy.'

The leather clad man looked carefree and nonchalant, but Sienna could see something stirring him up inside.

He really wants this. He's... Nervous?

It wasn't an emotion that Sienna had expected to see and it took her aback. This meant a lot to him; after all, overwatch was his first family before Talon stepped in and stole him away, corrupting him for what everyone else thought was forever.  
The more she thought about it, the more she understood. Reaper could never go back to Talon now, they would murder him in an instant... But neither could overwatch simply take him in after his actions to destroy them over the past years. His attempt to join could easily be seen as a way to redeem himself to Talon by wiping them out from the inside.

But Sienna knew that wasn't it. Something had changed within Reaper, she had seen the disgust in his eyes when he realised he had hurt her, the way his face twisted with pain as he held her broken body, even his hidden but clear respect for Jack and Winston during their talks.

Reaper and Jack were still talking, something irrelevant and unnecessary. Sienna realised what she wanted to say.

'You're not here to hurt us' Sienna spoke, as two pairs of surprised eyes turned their gaze towards hers.

Her own eyes bored through Reaper's owl skull, feeling him hold her attention through the mask.  
'You know I wouldn't leave here with you'

Suddenly, Reaper dropped her gaze and looked away. Jack stayed silent, observing the interaction between the two.  
'Am I right?'

The silence stretched just a little too long in the cold room as Reaper's clawed hands clenched.  
He responded, finally, but the reluctance in his voice was piercingly obvious.  
'I've seen the way you talk to everyone here.I know you. They're you're family now, I wouldn't take you away from that.' Reaper's voice was low and gravelled, like velvet drawn through stone.  
'I don't care for good or bad, I've killed for glory and killed for fun... But I wont take you from your family, nor will I put you in the path of Talon outside these walls. I won't... I can't lose you again.' His voice didn't crack, but it didn't have to for Sienna to understand.

There was a short pause before Jack's voice cut through the air between them, breaking the thick tension.  
'You will stay on trial. This is my final decision. At the end of a week it will be put to a vote.'  
Jack turned to look at them both individually.  
'If it were my choice alone, I would permit it. But as captain I have responsibilities to everyone in this compound.  
I'm afraid, Reyes, you will have to prove yourself.'

Sienna quickly glanced back over to Reaper, catching the curling tendrils of smoke crawling up the table edges - but this wasn't the same nervous aura as before, this was something of a 'challenge accepted'.


End file.
